The Four Horsemen Project
by Toxin Blackheart
Summary: The S.T.A.R.S. Omega and Beta teams must venture into the underground labs of Doctor Peter Keyes, Umbrella scientist rumored to be experimenting on young teenagers. Read and review please. Rated R for extreme violence, gore, and language. -COMPLETE-
1. The two STARS teams

**OMEGA TEAM:**  
  
**Lyle Stevens**  
Position - Team Commander  
Age- 45  
Hair- Brown  
Eyes- Brown  
Height- 5'11''  
Weight- 195 lbs.  
Blood Type- AB  
Background- The leader of the S.T.A.R.S. Omega Team. Lyle is a dedicated and amiable man who always sees the glass being half full. Never the kind of man who would abandon his team. He is married with two children, a 13 year old girl and an 8 year old boy.  
  
**Sean Grey**  
Position - Communications Expert  
Age- 36  
Hair- Brown  
Eyes- Blue  
Height- 5'7''  
Weight- 144 lbs.  
Blood Type- A  
Background- Intelligent, skilled, and sometimes moody, Sean does his job well as the Omega Team's communications expert. Being the only communications expert between both the Omega and Beta Teams, Sean proudly carries his responsibility and jokes saying, _"Without me, there would be no team."  
_  
**Noah Squyres**  
Position - Demolitions Expert  
Age- 29  
Hair- Dark Brown  
Eyes- Brown  
Height- 5'10''  
Weight- 159 lbs.  
Blood Type- O  
Background- The Omega Team's demolitions expert known for his obvious demolitions expertise, his itchy trigger finger, and his lack of courage in the field. Squyres prefers to be away from the action, yet craves the heat of the explosions and carnage.  
  
**Seth DeMarco**  
Position - Sniper  
Age- 22  
Hair- Brown  
Eyes- Green  
Height- 5'9''  
Weight- 156 lbs.  
Blood Type- O  
Background- A quiet and emotional young man, Seth's pinpoint accuracy helps him exceed at his job as the Omega Team's solo sniper. He and his older sister constantly kid around with each other, lightening up even the grimmest of moods any team member may have.  
  
**Grace DeMarco**  
Position - Vehicle Specialist  
Age- 27  
Hair- Brown  
Eyes- Green  
Height- 5'7''  
Weight- 137 lbs.  
Blood Type- O  
Background- The vehicle specialist of the Omega Team and the older sister of Omega sniper Seth DeMarco. She has a very positive attitude but she becomes absolutely serious when the time calls for it. She takes her work extremely seriously.  
  
**Elizabeth Lee**  
Position - Medic  
Age- 22  
Hair- Dirty Blonde  
Eyes- Blue  
Height- 5'6''  
Weight- 124 lbs.  
Blood Type- B  
Background- Quiet and reserved, Elizabeth prides herself in being the medic for the Omega and Beta teams. She is very easy to talk to which makes her wonderful at her job. She knows that she is admired by team sniper Seth DeMarco, but she pretends that she does not.  
  
**BETA TEAM:**  
  
**Richard Montgomery**  
Position - Team Commander  
Age- 48  
Hair- Black  
Eyes- Gray  
Height- 6'  
Weight- 210 lbs.  
Blood Type- B  
Background- The veteran member of the S.T.A.R.S. team, Richard has been a member for 21 years. He began as a simple field scout, which is why he has a close bond with current Beta Team field scout Todd Zayne. He has a slight amount of psychic ability, but he keeps it to himself. Due to this so-called "ailment," Richard must constantly ingest painkillers to relieve him of terrible headaches.  
  
**Todd Zayne**  
Position - Field Scout  
Age- 24  
Hair- Blonde  
Eyes- Blue  
Height- 6'  
Weight- 198 lbs.  
Blood Type- O  
Background- A bold and somewhat arrogant young man, Todd Zayne is the Beta field scout, a position he has striven for since his teenage years. He's very sharp with a gun, and has his own "lucky" gun that he received from his commander Richard Montgomery. Zayne always has and still looks up to Montgomery as a father figure.  
  
**Gordon G. Amos**  
Position - Sniper  
Age- 30  
Hair- None  
Eyes- Brown  
Height- 6'3''  
Weight- 179 lbs.  
Blood Type- A  
Background- Tall, lanky, and shaved bald, Gordon Amos definitely breaks the stereotype of a basic sniper. Amos has a very cocky attitude and he gets his kicks shooting, whether on the field or in the firing range. He is good friends with Eric Emerson, the heavy weapons specialist on his team.  
  
**Eric Emerson**  
Position - Heavy Weapons  
Age- 33  
Hair- Black  
Eyes- Dark Brown  
Height- 6'5''  
Weight- 254 lbs.  
Blood Type- AB  
Background- Eric Emerson is a huge massive bear of a man, but wouldn't hurt a fly. However, when on the field of battle, Emerson goes from gentle giant to ravenous animal. He stops at nothing until the enemy is, as he would say, "blown to shit." He takes care of Nora Yi, Beta team chemist, dedicated to keeping her safe.  
  
**Nora Yi**  
Position - Chemist  
Age- 24  
Hair- Black  
Eyes- Dark Brown  
Height- 5'4''  
Weight- 113 lbs.  
Blood Type- B-  
Background- Nora is the team's chemist, and she is very timid. She is very quiet and takes a long time to warm up to anyone. The only person she seems to talk to on a regular basis is the heavy weapons specialist Eric Emerson.  
  
**Zachary Miller**  
Position - Machinist/Machine Specialist  
Age- 27  
Hair- Blonde  
Eyes- Blue  
Height- 5'6''  
Weight- 138 lbs.  
Blood Type- AB  
Background- Wild, cocky, and arrogant, Zachary Miller is the kind of man who frequently finds himself in trouble. He enjoys hunting, but he really needs to look before he leaps.


	2. Keyes's Madness Begins

His slender-fingered hand rested on the cold glass of the   
  
stasis tube. The inhabitant of the artificial womb was a young woman,   
  
no older than 17, unmoving save for the slow rising and falling of her   
  
chest. The scientist, Dr. Peter Keyes, removed his hand from the tube   
  
but kept his eyes on the floating girl. The tube was one of four, the   
  
other three also inhabited, but none of the others were conscious.  
  
"Today is the day," Keyes grumbled to himself as he ran his   
  
hand through his light brown, albeit streaked with gray, hair. He put   
  
his hand in the pocket of his lab coat and left the cold room.  
  
*****  
  
"Goddamned Umbrella, so paranoid. Too paranoid for their own   
  
damn good," mumbled Dale Wagner. He wanted to do SOMETHING. Anything   
  
would be better than what he was stuck doing. "Ugh, if I'm gonna guard   
  
somethin', why this?! It's not like those freak kids are goin'   
  
anywhere, and that whack_job Keyes is in the room just about every hour   
  
of the damned day. Nothing's ever gonna happen." Dale temporarily   
  
lost his train of thought as the door opened. Keyes walked out, hand   
  
in pocket. Dale acknowledged the doctor and returned to his crossword   
  
puzzle. Through the corner of his eye, Dale saw Keyes walk over near   
  
him. Before he could react, Keyes yanked a snub-nosed revolver out of   
  
his pocket and jammed it in between Dale's eyes. He reached for his   
  
pistol and-  
  
-BAM-  
  
- Dale fell back and slid down the wall, smearing the blood and brain   
  
that had splattered against it. Mere moments passed and Dale was   
  
resting in a pool of his own crimson blood. 


	3. Lost Communication

(DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING in this fanfic aside from my own created characters. Umbrella and its creations belong to Capcom and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) belongs to New Line Cinema.)  
  
  
  
"Aww man the movie was SO awesome! How can you tell me it sucked?!? The kid's leg gets fucking chopped off!!!"  
  
  
  
"Oh yeah, it was some masterpiece, eh?" scoffed Eric. His burly arms were crossed over his massive chest. "Chopped off, got thrills from that?"  
  
  
  
Noah laughed, "OOOH man it gets worse!! The kid gets friggin' meat hooked and I was just on the edge of my fuckin' seat the whole movie!"  
  
  
  
"Heh, that sure is saying a lot, coming from the biggest pansy in the world," scoffed Todd. "The movie was so friggin' predictable."  
  
  
  
"Would you guys shut the fuck up back there?!" Todd and Noah both turned and looked at Sean, who was staring daggers at them. He was at the communication terminal with earphones on. Zach tied his ponytail and smirked as he turned around. In a high pitched voice he yelled, "Yes ma'am!" The other guys laughed as Sean turned back to the terminal.  
  
Rich Montgomery cracked open an aluminum can of ginger ale. "You don't know what classic horror is until you've seen the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Talk about a good movie." Monty scratched his head, his fingers weaving through his curly black graying hair.  
  
"Hell Monty, you're old enough you probably played 'Old Man' in the original," cracked Eric. He took a long drag from his cigarette as Nora quietly giggled from her desk in the corner.  
  
Monty faked a sigh, "Em, didn't your parents ever teach you to respect your elders?" Monty was only in his late forties, but he still received a fair share of old jokes in the S.T.A.R.S. office. Most of the jokes came from Em, Noah or Zach.  
  
"Hell Monts, it's pretty damn hard to respect the elderly when makin' jokes is just to easy!" Zach said. His southern accent resulted in a very stereotypical Alabama drawl- also the topic of many jokes between the S.T.A.R.S. members. Gordon "Gordy" Amos spoke up after Zach's comment.  
  
"So Bammy, how's the corn comin' in this year?" teased Gordy with a fake Alabama accent. He crossed his eyes and jutted his teeth out as he spoke.  
  
Grace suddenly popped in before Zach could retort. "I wouldn't start talking if I were you tall, bald and lanky." Her brother Seth smiled at his desk. He and Grace both put their fingers around their eyes, imitating goggles. Gordy always wore his trademark goggles which he put a crosshair on one lens.   
  
"DeMarco, what I want to know is, why do you try all these wonder diets and exercises when your flappin' jaws are exercise enough?" The men in the office uttered a resounding "ooooooh" as Grace gave Gordy the finger. She certainly wasn't fat, but she was a health nut who finds one pound over to be the end of the world.  
  
"Would you guys shut the fuck up please? Something's happening." Everyone gathered around the communication terminal and could hear the feedback emitting from Sean's headphones. "We've lost Doug. Nothing's coming in." The room fell deathly silent.  
  
"Maybe he just dropped the earpiece?" suggested Nora.  
  
Sean kept his eyes focused on the terminal, turning knobs and switching dials frantically. "I'd doubt that. We've got Doug on nanomachines. Only reason we wouldn't be hearing from him is if his he's splattered all over the place. I just wanna know what happened to him. He's got no files with us, there's no way they could know he's a mole."  
  
Lyle muttered, "We ARE dealing with Umbrella here. If they have enough power to stay in business after the whole Raccoon fiasco, I'm sure they could find out the background of one suspicious worker."  
  
Sean suddenly stood up and turned towards Lyle. "We have to go in there." His voice was shaky, as if he were on the brink of crying. The other members began to chatter amongst themselves. "We have to check it out."  
  
"What, what's so important that we have to go. Can't we just send a squad of cops down there?" Monty looked at Sean as he spoke.  
  
Sean looked down at the ground as Lyle spoke up, "Sean's sister volunteered as an experiment down at that Umbrella lab." Lyle turned and looked at the Beta and Omega teams, "Monty, I'm sending my team over there, you coming too?"  
  
Monty hesitated, then spoke, "Everyone, get ready. At 20:00 hours we're going by chopper." Both teams rushed out of the meeting room towards the lockers.  
  
-Not too much action this time around…but it's coming. R&R with thoughts. 


	4. Grim Arrival

Doctor Terrence Mann almost threw himself into the locker and   
  
slammed the metal door. Huddled in the tiny locker, Dr. Mann tightly  
  
held the broken broomstick in his sweating hands, turning his knuckles  
  
white. He slightly moved forward in his confined bunker, putting his  
  
eyes near the locker's grated openings. He could hear the ominous   
  
screaming of the other employees as they ran by his locker. He spotted  
  
Oscar, one of the custodians, in the corner of his eye. As he turned to look at the running janitor, half of his upper torso flew into the   
  
locker. Blood sprayed through the grates of the locker, staining   
  
Mann's already sweat covered face. He fell back and firmly slapped a   
  
hand against his mouth, barely suppressing a scream of terror.   
  
Suddenly, the small rivets of light that previously shone through the   
  
locker's gratings disappeared, Mann's former spyholes were now covered.  
  
The thing was in front of the locker. "Oh God, please no. Don't let   
  
me die. I don't want to die, please," thought the frantic scientist.   
  
The unspoken pleas throbbed in Mann's head as a structure of pure bone  
  
tore through the locker's flimsy metal door. Seconds became hours as   
  
the crude blade ripped through the flesh of the doctor's abdomen. He   
  
could feel it tear up his organs and rip through his spinal column.   
  
Everything became numb as the bone claw ripped out Mann's back and   
  
through the locker, into the wall behind it. He drooped down, hanging,  
  
impaled on the beast's claw. His white dress shirt and lab coat were   
  
now stained red as was the floor around the locker. The claw quickly   
  
retracted, ripping away the locker door with it. Doctor Terrence   
  
Mann's body plopped to the floor with a sickening THUD. The creature's  
  
large gray foot stepped on and crushed the quite dead scientist's head  
  
as he proceeded into the hallway, greeted by more screaming.  
  
*****  
  
The helicopter flight wasn't especially long, but the   
  
unfavorable silence of the occupants made the thirty minute flight seem  
  
like a day. Sean's silence was the most piercing. He sat with his   
  
elbows on his knees, head down, looking at the helicopter's steel   
  
floor. Gordy broke the silence.  
  
"How old was she?"  
  
The question seemed to snap Sean out of his almost comatose   
  
state and back to reality. "Oh, uh…she was comin' up on seventeen   
  
soon. Not even old enough to…" Sean stopped in mid-sentence. He   
  
inhaled and exhaled slowly, then returning his gaze to the steel floor.  
  
Elizabeth chimed in as well. "Yeah Sean, your sister is gonna   
  
be fine. We're just gonna go in and get her. It'll be that simple."   
  
She received no response from Sean. "I think he's just blocking   
  
everything out. Nothin's coming through to him."  
  
"Just leave him be. He's just jostled around up there,"   
  
replied Noah, pointing to his temple with his index finger. "Once we   
  
get in there, he'll be back to the norm." He scratched at the whiskers  
  
along his upper lip before leaning back in his seat.  
  
"Alright guys and gals, looks like we've reached our   
  
destination," Zach announced. A slight tremor hit the helicopter as  
  
its landing gear touched the ground. "Everybody off the bird."  
  
The team members all hopped out of the helicopter into the   
  
freezing cold. The lab was remotely placed a few miles past the   
  
U.S./Canada border, and it was winter. The snow bit at the faces of   
  
the soldiers as they left the helicopter and headed towards the silver,  
  
steel-walled laboratory. They reached the entrance, steel double   
  
doors with the Umbrella logo printed solidly, spanning both doors.   
  
Lyle reached out towards the handle with a gloved hand and to his   
  
surprise, it opened.  
  
"Fuck, what are we getting' ourselves into. Some shit's gotta   
  
happen if the fuckin' front door opens without any hitch," Todd spat   
  
into the snow, "I got a bad feelin' Caps."  
  
Lyle looked back at Todd. "So do I…so do I." The soldiers   
  
walked into the laboratory main entrance. Once they all entered, Lyle   
  
shut the door behind them, shutting out the cold. However, upon taking  
  
in the condition of the Main Hall, Lyle's bad feeling immediately   
  
escalated into dread. 


	5. Disarray

"Oh fuck me."  
  
Blood. Entrails. Whatever used to decorate the walls of the   
  
now derelict main hall was now covered with red. Bodies were scattered  
  
about on the hall's black tiled floor, others draped over the reception  
  
desks. Each body told a different story - Limbs were severed, entrails  
  
were spilt, torsos were separated.  
  
"Someone took a fuckin' bulldozer to the place. What the fuck  
  
coulda done all this shit?" rambled Noah. "Goddamn Cap, let's get our  
  
asses outta here before we wind up all over the walls."  
  
"No, we have to at least investigate. We're armed Squyres,  
  
these scientists obviously weren't. If whatever did this shows up   
  
again, we'll just blast the fucker to Hell. We just have to stay   
  
together," commanded Lyle.  
  
"Fuck that. We split up."  
  
All eyes were on Monty. The team began to mutter amongst   
  
themselves. Before Lyle could say anything, Monty interrupted him.  
  
"If we split up, we'll be able to cover the entire lab in less   
  
time. Then we can get out of this Hellhole faster."  
  
"Less firepower increases the chances of us dying here Rich!"   
  
Lyle protested. "I don't want my men to die here!"  
  
"You think I want these soldiers dead?! I'm trying to get us  
  
out of here Lyle! We're men too, just like the remains of all them on   
  
the floor right now. If they got ripped up like that, I'm sure the   
  
same would happen to us!"  
  
Todd stepped forward. "I'm with Monty on this one. There's   
  
not much hope for us if we stick together, then we're just one big   
  
target. It will take longer unless we split up."  
  
All of the soldiers began shouting, some supporting Lyle's   
  
idea, others on Monty's side.  
  
"EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"  
  
Everyone stopped and looked at the red faced Grace. "Alright   
  
people, how about we try Lyle's strategy, and if that doesn't work  
  
then we try splitting up? Works for the both of yaz, right?"  
  
"I'm with Grace," said Em. Everyone else seemed to agree on   
  
Grace's plan.  
  
Feeling somewhat defeated, Monty replied, "Fine, we try it your   
  
way first Lyle."  
  
Everybody unslung their rifles from their shoulders and began   
  
to proceed towards the silver blood splattered doors that were right   
  
across from the entrance. They stepped into the hallway, and were   
  
astounded by it. It was totally clean, almost like the hallways found  
  
in a hospital. Nothing was out of place, there weren't any bodies,   
  
there was nothing.  
  
"Well fuck, just when we think this place can't get any   
  
more fucked up. Dear God..." muttered Zach, adjusting his shotgun   
  
under his shoulder.  
  
The team made it to the end of the hallway, finding themselves  
  
in the middle of a four-way intersection. The team formed a circle,  
  
covering all four of the hallways. Monty was rubbing at his   
  
temple with his index finger, squinting his eyes in pain. Suddenly,  
  
a loud -BANG- resounded through the hallways. Seconds later, it was   
  
followed by another. A chorus of pounding filled the hallways. The   
  
soldiers clasped their weapons, aiming down at their respective   
  
halls: Em, Sean, and Lyle taking the North hall, Zach, Gordy and Nora   
  
at the East hall, Seth, Elizabeth, and Todd at the South hall and   
  
Grace, Noah, and Monty at the West hall. The pounding ended with a   
  
loud crash.  
  
Noah began to lose it, his cowardice setting in. "Oh fuck, oh  
  
fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck."  
  
They started to appear in the South hall, where the team had   
  
just come though. They were people, they were the scientists and staff  
  
of the lab, but they weren't quite as dead as previously thought.   
  
Flesh was peeling and hanging from the bodies of the horde, entrails  
  
hanging from their hollow torsos. Rotting hands were reaching   
  
towards the startled commandos. The dead were coming at them from all  
  
sides, the soldiers were trapped. 


	6. Death from Four Sides

The laser sighting of Seth's rifle nestled in between the eyes   
  
of one of the shuffling researchers, slightly tinting the white glazed   
  
eyes with red. With the pull of the trigger, blood and brains   
  
exploded from the back of the creature's skull, staining the already  
  
bloody lab coats of the following zombies.   
  
"Fuck it, they keep on coming!" hollared Zach as he blasted one  
  
of the undead with his shotgun for the third time, finally blowing its  
  
head off of its shoulders.  
  
Keeping his eyes focused on his targets, Em screamed back,   
  
"Save your ammo! Go for the head! The head!!" He held the trigger   
  
and moved with the automatic rifle, taking out three of the undead   
  
scientists in one fluid motion. The ones behind them stumbled and

fell over their comrades' corpses as they shuffled towards their food.  
  
Sean and Gordy had switched to their Berettas as they continued  
  
to blast away at the fiends. "Switch to your Berettas! Save your   
  
autos, dammit!" Sean kicked at one of the zombies who came to

close, shooting a bullet clean through its left eye. Everyone slung

their rifles over their shoulders, snagging the smaller Beretta's from

their holsters. Em grabbed Todd's rifle from around his shoulder,

taking an M16 in each hand.  
  
"EVERYBODY DOWN! I've got some renovating to do." Upon

Em's command, everybody ducked down on all fours. Em started to

fire and slowly rotated as he did, becoming a human turret. The dead  
  
were literally being shredded where they stood with bullets. Once Em  
  
had completed his 360 degree turn, every wall was spotted with   
  
bulletholes. The once medically clean walls were splattered with   
  
blood. However, the shuffling had not receeded. There were still

more zombies. Everyone stood back up and began to fire at the

approaching corpses. Spotting his rifle on the ground, Todd quickly

turned and grabbed it, slinging it back over his shoulder. He turned

back around, Beretta drawn with a zombie standing directly in front

of him. The creature was about 5'11'', his brown hair was dishiveled

and his blood-smeared ID tag told Todd that his target was named

Darren Newhart. Time slowed by the second as Todd brought his

handgun towards Darren's face, only to be shoved aside by one of his

peeling, rotten arms. He felt the scientist's cold grip tighten on his

wrist as he brought his festering maw towards it. Todd managed to let

out a raspy yell as Mr. Newhart's yellowed teeth chewed through his

wrist. After three unsuccessful punches to the monster's skull, Todd

tried to turn around for help. Before he could turn all the way, he felt

a pain in his throat, a sharp yet warm pain. The bullet made its way

through his windpipe and esophagus, tearing through the fleshy

organs, and lodging itself in Todd's vertebrae. He let out a bubbly

gurgle before falling. The screaming of his comrades began to ebb

away as he felt more teeth chewing at his shoulders and scalp. He

looked up and saw a smoking Beretta right across from him, then

looked down at his own blood covered shirt. This was the last that

Todd Zayne saw before falling into darkness.  
  
"TODD!!!!" screamed Monty as he brought his steel toed boot  
  
under the chin of the monster eating Todd. He heard teeth and bones

in its jaw break as he turned and shot the other two zombies at point   
  
blank range. One last zombie remained in the Eastern Hallway until   
  
Nora put a bullet in between its eyes, sending it to the floor.  
  
There were at least 45 to 50 bodies that now laid splattered   
  
on the floors of the intersection. Monty, red in the face, turned to  
  
the others.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO TODD?!"  
  
Noah shakily answered him. "I saw it, he got attacked, zombie  
  
got his by surprise and tore the veins outta his hand."  
  
"Then why the fuck did his THROAT explode?!" All of the  
  
soldiers remained silent. "Who shot him? Just tell me, which one of   
  
you shot him?" The silence continued. "_Fine_, it's your conscience,   
  
not mine. Let's split up."  
  
"What? Are you insane Monty? We need to stay together!"  
  
"A HELLUVA LOT OF GOOD THAT DID US!! Look, Grace

said we'd try Lyle's suicide method then we'd go and try my method

when Lyle's failed. His plan failed, so now, we're going to split up.

Got it?"  
  
Monty was acknowledged by an assortment of murmurs and a

few distinguishable "yes sir's."   
  
"But first, let's get the hell out of here." Everyone agreed   
  
with Monty's plan and followed him out through the North Hall,

silently uttering a short prayer as they stepped over Todd's corpse.


	7. The Teams Divide

The North Hall led to a large, well-decorated conference room.

The floors were made of fine black marble and the windowless walls

were covered with a deep gray paint. In the middle of the room was a

grand table of pure emerald, its shimmering green hue almost

hypnotizing. Hauntingly ironic, there were twelve chairs at the table,

one on each end and five on each side - The number exactly the same

as the number of members on both of the teams, now one short. Each

soldier took a seat, the leaders Monty and Lyle sat at each end while

what would have been Todd's seat remained bare. Lyle cleared his

throat before he began.  
  
"Alright, now we obviously know what we're dealing with. We   
  
know our enemy and we know what killed all of the workers here. We

all know how durable these things are. Rule of thumb, shoot for the

head. Guys, _try_ to stick to your Berettas. We're one man short now-"  
  
"Which means we'll have one team of three." Monty interrupted.   
  
"So guys, how should we pick teams? Any suggestions?"  
  
Trying to defend his cause, Lyle spoke once more. "Rich,   
  
should we really split apart like this? We need to stay together, you  
  
saw how many of those things there were. They apparantly hunt in  
  
packs, so we should do the same."  
  
Rubbing his temple, Monty replied without looking at Lyle, "We  
  
tried doing it your way Lyle and look what happened, we've lost a

man. Traveling in "packs" hasn't done us any good. Everybody gets a   
  
partner, we'll be able to cover this place in half, no a third of the  
  
time. So, hmm, Zach, Gordy, you two are partners."  
  
"Well bumpkin, looks like it's you and me." Gordy said with a   
  
sly grin. He lowered his goggles over his eyes and adjusted them so   
  
the drawn-on crosshair was in front of his eye. Zach smiled and   
  
brought up his gloved hand and responded with the middle finger.

Both laughed as Monty continued.  
  
"Next, we'll get the team of three out of the way. How about,   
  
Em, Seth, and Lyle." Em stood up immediately after hearing his  
  
assigned team.  
  
"No way Monty, I gotta stay with Nora! There ain't no way I'm  
  
leavin' her. No way in goddamn Hell!" He looked at Nora with deep  
  
concern in his eyes.  
  
Still holding his head, Monty continued. "Teams are picked   
  
Eric so sit down. On that note, Nora, you and I are paired up."  
  
Monty looked up at Em. "Don't worry big guy, I'll keep a good eye on

her. She'll be fine."   
  
"_She sure as Hell better be_." Em muttered through clenched

teeth before he sat down and crossed his arms and looked at Nora.  
  
"I'll be alright Em, I can take care of myself. Don't worry."  
  
Nora said, sharing the concern that Em had.  
  
"Next up, Sean and Noah, you guys are a team and finally Grace  
  
and Elizabeth, you ladies are a pair."  
  
With a wry grin on his face, Sean muttered, "No fair, Noah and  
  
I are on a 'team' while the ladies are a 'pair?' I demand a recount."  
  
Brushing off that last comment, Monty finished up, "Well guys,  
  
we got our teams so let's go. We have to search for Sean's sis' and  
  
we'll all keep in touch via radio, got it?"  
  
"Oi cap'n."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Got it."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Em, Seth, and Lyle, you guys go and check out the West Hall.  
  
Grace and Elizabeth, East Hall. Sean, you, Noah, Gordy, and Zach

keep checking past this room." He pointed to the door behind Lyle's

now unoccupied seat. "Nora and I will go back through the South

Hall. We're going to check and see if there are anymore rooms. If

there aren't, then we'll come and catch up with Grace and Liz. Any

questions?" Silence. "Good, then let's go."  
  
All but Sean, Noah, Gordy, and Zach backtracked through the   
  
intersection to go explore their assigned Halls.

****--------------------  
  
When the group of seven made it into the intersection, Seth

spoke up, "Wait a sec. Wh..Where did Todd go?" he said as he looked   
  
at his comrades, puzzled. "He got shot in the throat, he couldn't have  
  
survived." Montgomery winced upon hearing Seth talk about Todd's   
  
sudden demise. He turned and looked over to where his body had   
  
previously been only to find a puddle of blood with Todd's dropped

gun soaking in it. Monty went over and picked up the gun,

discovering that it was not Todd's Beretta, but his .50 AE Desert

Eagle, a gun which Monty had given him upon joining the S.T.A.R.S.

He shook his head with regret and holstered Todd's gun as his own.  
  
"Mayb-" Monty stopped, on the verge of weeping. "Maybe one of   
those undead sons of bitches took him away, I..I guess." Without a

word, the team of three went west while the two women headed east,

both stepping over the fallen undead on their way. Nora approached

Monty and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Come on captain, let's go." He turned and looked at her and  
  
turned around, beginning to walk towards the Main Hall. As he

walked, he took a pill bottle out of his pant pocket and twisted off the

cap, dumping two of the white pills into his mouth. The bottle said   
  
"_Umbrella Brand Aspirin_."

****--------------------  
  
The group of four who had headed North met at an intersection.  
  
"So, what the fuck do we do now?"  
  
"Well, Caps said to split up, so its me and you Gords and you  
  
two head that way." Zach pointed to the hall going left.  
  
Noah shook his head, muttering, "Yeah sure, whatever."  
  
"Why you so blue Shakey? Nervous? What's up?"  
  
"I'm just nervous, yeah, just nervous. Todd dyin' like that  
  
an' all just scared the shit outta me y'know. I..I just wanna get out  
  
of here. Hey... you seem pretty upbeat about your sister bein' here and  
  
all, y'know how you're just crackin' jokes and whatever."  
  
The two came across the hall's end with two doors straight   
  
across from each other. "I'm just trying to look on the bright side,  
  
that's all. Hey, I'll check this room to the left and you check out  
  
the room on the right. If ya find somethin', hollar." Sean started  
  
off and disappeared into the room.  
  
_"What bright side?"_ Thought Noah as he went to check out the  
  
room.

****--------------------  
  
"I..I'm so scared now..now that we don't have big strong Noah   
  
to protect us from the big scary monsters!" wailed Gordy in a high-  
  
pitched, whiny voice.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm here to protect you kind pedestrian!" said  
  
Zach in a pseudo-heroic deep voice. Their little parody was ended   
  
when they heard a loud crash. Both men turned to the door to their

right. They went into the room - Pitch black. They flipped on the light   
  
switch. **BAM**- Another crash. "What the fuck man, what's goin' on?"  
  
Another crash- a box fell in front of Gordy. He turned towards Zach   
  
but was caught off guard by one of the four horsemen standing no

more than ten feet away from him. Fear blotted out Zach's screams,

"Run you stupid shit, c'mon _RUUUUNNN_!!!!"


	8. Pestilence

Monty was once again rubbing at his aching temple, squinting  
  
his eyes and wincing in pain. He grabbed his bottle of painkillers   
  
only to find that they had all been consumed. In frustration, he   
  
threw the empty bottle over his shoulder, slightly cursing under his  
  
breath. "Are you alright Richard?" Nora's small quiet voice rang in   
  
Monty's head. "What's wrong, you have been rubbing your head a lot."  
  
"I just..ugh...I was born with slight traces of..well..ESP."  
  
"Extra Sensory Perception? So you're a psychic?"  
  
"In short, yes. It's nothing huge, I can't bend spoons or   
  
anything, but sometimes I'll get a short glimpse of something." He  
  
stopped for a moment and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.   
  
"Everytime it's just this short little flash in my head. When I was  
  
rubbing my head in the Intersection back there, the visions were   
  
flashing in my head. I...I saw Todd being," Monty sighed, "Being eaten  
  
by that zombie that got him. I try to just put all of those images in  
  
the back of my brain and pretend nothing happened, but it **always**

ends up happening, it hasn't failed yet."  
  
"My God, why didn't you tell any of us this Rich?"  
  
"I didn't want to be a circus freak of a commander. I just   
  
wish that it would just go away, I don't want it. I don't want to know  
  
what's going to happen. All of my visions end up as disasters like   
  
Todd's dea-" Monty suddenly grabbed his head with both hands and   
  
yelled at the top of his lungs. He tightly shut his eyes and clenched  
  
his teeth together.  
  
"Good God Monty, what's wrong?"  
  
_**"IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN...."**_  
  
--------------------  
  
"MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASS GORDY LET'S GOOOOO!"  
  
Zach's cries finally registered into Gordy's brain as he   
  
stared at the massive creature that stood before him. It was at least   
  
seven or seven and a half feet tall with a hugely deformed bone   
  
structure. The creature's head was a foot or two away from its body,  
  
suspended on a projectile neck. Its shoulder blades jutted from its  
  
body like huge spikes and its vertebra jutted out from the skin of its   
  
back. It was an obese, massive creature, its swollen belly protruded   
  
outward, the skin of it tearing and its organs on the brink of spilling   
  
onto the ground. The presence of breasts were the only signs that this   
  
foul beast was indeed female. Her arms were far too long, reaching   
  
past her ankles. Her left arm, aside from the rotten peeling flesh,   
  
was normal. However her right hand ended at the wrist, the flesh cut   
  
off leaving only a massive skeletal three-fingered bone claw. The   
  
creature's bottom jaw was close to falling off, the flesh holding it on   
  
was torn. Her right eye had a feminine appearance to it but the left   
  
was dialated and bloodshot. No nose was present and a large crack   
  
split the face down the middle from where the nose would have been,   
  
down to the lower jaw.   
  
The behemoth roared at Gordy, and as he ran to turn around, he  
  
fell. The box that had fallen, thanks to Pestilence, spilled chemicals   
  
onto the ground, forming a puddle around Gordy's feet. He slipped

and cracked his head on the tile floor of the Storeroom. He stumbled

back to his feet, overcoming the nausea and began to run. The fall had   
affected his vision, everything had gone terribly blurry and Gordy felt

very, very dizzy. The cut received from his fall was starting to sting   
  
from the chemicals that he had fallen in. As he tried to catch up with   
  
Zach, he stumbled and upon regaining his balance, felt Pestilence's   
  
massive claw strike his back. In too much pain to scream, Gordy   
  
silently flew through the air and struck the wall. Before slipping   
  
away into unconsciousness, Gordy saw Pestilence stand over him.

Her arm reached towards him and Gordon G. Amos saw no more.  
  
--------------------  
  
After hearing a crunch against the wall, Zach stopped running  
  
and looked back. Pestilence plunged her claw through Gordy's   
  
chest and, with her other arm, grabbed his leg. She lifted him up   
  
towards her face and began to bite at his midsection. Blood spilled   
  
from the creature's mouth and onto the floor as Zach slowly unslung

his rifle. _"Move slow dammit, might not notice, slowly.."_ He placed

the butt of his rifle in the crook of his arm and took aim. As his finger

tightened on the trigger, the left half of Pestilence's face exploded.   
  
Furious, she lunged at Zach, flailing Gordy's disembowled corpse.   
  
Blood from Gordy and blood from the monster covered Zach as he

turned and ran as fast as his tired legs could possibly muster.   
  
_"Maybe...can...trap..it,"_ thought Zach's exhausted mind. He turned   
  
around, blood covered boots sliding on the tiled floor. He lobbed his   
  
shotgun at Pestilence's face and leaped, sliding behind Pestilence   
  
through her legs. As he got back onto his feet, Pestilence whipped her   
  
arm around, using Gordy's legs as a morbid flail. Zach took Gordy's   
  
boots to the back, knocking him back onto the ground. Quickly   
  
recovering, Zach ran down the hallway towards the storage room.

Rather than going back to the storage room, Zach veered left into the

room they had not checked. He slammed the metal door behind him

and looked at what room he had thrown himself into.  
  
_"Good God, it's a motherfuckin' kitchen."_ Zach eyed the gas-  
  
fueled oven in the corner of the kitchen and smiled. _"We're gonna _

_have us some fried zombie bitch tonight."  
_  
------------------  
  
The room Noah had gone to investigate was nothing more than a   
  
unisex bathroom. Realizing its convinience, Noah walked over to one

ofthe very clean urinals and began to relieve himself. Shortly after he  
  
finished washing his hands, Noah heard gunshots and a scream from

the room across the hall that Sean had been investigating. _"Oh God, _

_first Todd, now Sean. Why, why, why?!"_ This statement pounded

over and over again in Noah's head as he ran into one of the bathroom

stalls and closed the door. He brought his legs up and hugged his

knees, hiding himself. After about ten minutes of waiting in silence,

Noah let go of his legs and opened the stall door. Beretta drawn,

Noah slowly snuck out of the bathroom and grabbed the handle to the

room where he heard the scream. Swallowing and closing his eyes,

Noah threw open the door, screamed, and opened fire. After wasting

an entire clip, Noah opened his eyes and realized that he was in a

locker room, or at least the remains of one. He saw the upper torso of

an older man in a custodian outfit crawling towards him and

groaning. Noah screamed and brought the steel toe of his boot into

the zombie's face. Its head snapped back and fell flat on the floor. He

had stopped moving aside from the occasional arm twitch. Noah

turned over the body and saw the nametag on the suit, Oscar. He

closed the monster's eyes and noticed another body sprawled out on

the floor. He was dressed in black camoflagued clothes with steel

toed boots and a black S.T.A.R.S. kevlar jacket. He was laying on his

stomach and his head was gone, mashed to a bloody pulp which layed

in front of his neck stump. Noah rolled the body over and, to his

dismay, saw that the name on the vest was "S. Grey." Noah

quickly stood up and turned on his radio.  
  
"Everyone, we have an emergency situation. All teams report to  
  
the Conference Room now. Hurry up guys this is serious!!!" Noah   
  
released the radio's call button and sprinted off towards the   
  
Conference Room, leaving Sean's body behind.


	9. Montgomery

Bioengineered Genetic Arachnid Experiment Number 412,   
  
cheerfully nicknamed "Parker" by its creators, roamed the West Hall in   
  
search for food. Due to its enhanced abilities and boosted growth,   
  
Parker needed to find more food in order to survive. Its multiple eyes   
  
saw three food sources walking towards it. It stood on its four rear   
  
legs, baring its venomous fangs at the approaching food. Parker was   
  
quickly crushed beneath one of the food's boots and carelessly wiped   
  
aside. "_Goddamn bugs_." Lyle, Seth, and Em opened the West Hall main   
  
door to find carnage equalivalent, if not worse, than the condition on   
  
the Main Hall. The room was very similar to an office building, with   
  
desks and cubicles, or at least what was left of them. Entire walls   
  
were stripped and large gaping holes had been punched through them.   
  
There were a few stray bulletholes peppering the walls, holes from 9mm   
  
rounds, obviously from an armed researcher. Upon investigating one of  
  
the many corpses in the office, they too, like the walls, had been shot  
  
up. "Good Lord, what the Hell happened here?"  
  
"Hey, hey guys come here, come check this out!" hollared Lyle,  
  
who was knelt down next to an overturned desk. Next to him was a   
  
horrifically mutilated body which looked as if it had literally been  
  
pulled apart. The corpse was simply a mass of fleshy organs and torn  
  
muscle, rendering it completely unidentifiable.   
  
"Who the fuck could that be and what happened to 'im? For   
  
Chrissakes, he's been, just, Hell I can't even think of a word for   
  
this," cursed Em.  
  
Seth noticed something on the remnants of the corpse's lab coat  
  
and reached towards it. It was an Umbrella Corporation ID tag with the  
  
corpse's picture, name, and physical data. "Doug Lewis." Holy shit,   
  
it's Doug! No wonder we lost contact with him."  
  
"Maybe Umbrella _didn't_ figure out he was a spy. I guess he   
  
just got killed by, well, whatever did **this**." Lyle gestured at the   
  
room's walls, overturned desks, and scattered bodies. Seth suddenly   
  
felt icy cold arms wrap around his neck. Now completely defenseless,  
  
Seth screamed. "Shit, one's got Seth!!!" Lyle screamed as Em grabbed  
  
the ghoul's head and jammed his thumbs through its rotten eye sockets.  
  
The zombie groaned in pain as its arms let go of Seth and began to   
  
scratch at Em. This attack proved useless, as the creature's foul   
  
nails were only peeled off upon slashing at Em's kevlar vest. Em   
  
threw the zombie, immediately wiping his bloodied fingers on his pant  
  
leg. The now blinded zombie began to get up, but took two bullets to   
  
the head before it could complete it could rise. Once the zombie once  
  
again hit the floor, Noah's voice blared on Lyle radio.  
  
_"Everyone, we have an emergency situation. All teams report to   
the Conference Room now. Hurry up guys this is serious!!!"_  
  
The transmission ended and the three men headed towards the   
  
door leading back out to the West Hall. While on his way out, Em   
  
delivered a powerful kick to the downed zombie's torso, snapping ribs   
  
and flipping it over onto its belly. "Damn you Umbrella...Damn you."  
  
--------------------  
  
"Rich, Rich are you okay?! Rich!!" Nora shook the convulsing   
  
Monty as he clasped his head and yelled in pain. The screams suddenly   
  
died down as Monty's hands left his ears and he looked up at Nora.   
  
"Was that it Rich? Did you have another vision? Are you alright? Why  
  
did it hurt you so much? When we were in the Intersection you didn't   
  
do that."  
  
"**_Need_**...**_painkillers_**..." At that word, Nora knelt down and   
  
checked her pack, seeing if she could find anything that could help   
  
Monty with his head pains. "This time...it was another death vision,   
  
like what I saw with Todd..."  
  
Still searching her pack, Nora responded, "Really? What   
  
happened in this one? Who did you see dying?"  
  
"I saw you dying."   
  
Nora's search for painkillers ceased as she looked at Monty   
  
with dread. "W-What?"  
  
"You were being stabbed, in the face. I couldn't see who was   
  
stabbing you though, it was almost like- **GAAAH!!"** Monty shreiked with   
  
pain as teeth dug into the back of his neck. "God, Nora help! Get it   
  
off me!! HURRY!" In a frenzied panic, Nora pulled out her Beretta and  
  
blasted the zombie off of Monty. Both crept up towards the creature   
  
and fell back in revulsion. Todd Zayne's skin was now a deep red, the   
  
wound on his wrist had begun to fester and his eyes were glazed over   
  
and had gone deathly white. Blood from the bullet wound leaked from   
  
Todd's head and onto the black floor.  
  
"No, no it was Todd! It can't be! I-"  
  
"Wait just a minute there Nora..." Monty turned towards her,   
  
holding the bleeding wound on his neck with a frenzied look of delirium  
  
in his eyes. "_'It can't be?!'_ What, did **your** plan on killing him  
  
fail?! I should have known it was you that was the spy. Always acting  
  
so **QUIET** all the time. I wish I could kick myself for not seeing it  
  
before!! So, the quiet, reserved little girl is an Umbrella spy, eh?   
  
I still wish I could have figured it out earlier, but now, I'm going to  
  
make up for it." Monty unsheathed his six inch cerrated edged combat   
  
knife and held it in front of him. His radio began to chatter but he   
  
threw it aside, breaking it against the wall. _"This one is for Todd,   
  
you deceptive little **BITCH**!"  
_  
Monty leapt at Nora, slashing the knife and almost cutting   
  
across her cheek. He slashed again, drawing blood from Nora's forearm.  
  
"Richard please, I don't know what you're talking about!" Monty   
  
slashed across Nora's belly. "Stop this, I'm no Umbrella spy!" He   
  
cut her upper thigh. "Please Monty, I don't want to do this!" Nora,   
  
with gun in hand, swung the gun into Monty's face, breaking his nose,   
  
causing the crimson dribble to leak from it. She shakily held the gun  
  
at Monty's face.  
  
"C'mon, do it you little bitch. **DO IT**!! Either you'll be   
  
shooting me or you'll be shooting yourself, **SO YOU BETTER DECIDE!" **  
  
Leaving Nora with little time to decide, Monty charged at Nora. She

pulled the trigger.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Aah, '45, sounds like a good year to me. Do you agree   
  
Cheffy?" The zombie cook banged on the pantry door upon hearing Zach's  
  
voice. "Yeah, I agree." Zach grabbed the wine bottle from the shelf  
  
and shot off the top. He made a trail of alcohol from the door,   
  
leading all the way to the gas-fueled oven. Polishing off the '45,   
  
Zach walked back over to the wine rack and picked out two more bottles,  
  
smashing them both on the oven's surface, soaking it. He grabbed a   
  
cleaver from the knife rack and cautiously walked towards the pantry   
  
door. He turned the handle and quickly ran as the zombified cook   
  
charged out, hungering for flesh. Zach sprinted to the Kitchen's   
  
entrance and swung the door open. He ran over behind the large island   
  
with stoves, luring Pestilence and the zombie in his direction.   
  
Pestilence stormed in, quickly disposing of the zombie by devouring   
  
everything above its shoulderblades. Still holding Gordy's limp and   
  
broken body, Pestilence loomed over Zach. Timing her movement   
  
perfectly, right when Pestilence was about two steps past the   
  
running oven, Zach dashed for the exit, leaping over the island and   
  
turning around right as he made it into the doorway. _"Right place,   
  
right time."_ Pestilence was right next to the oven as Zach pulled a   
  
lighter out of his pocket. He flipped the top and struck the flint,   
  
giving birth to the lighter's tiny flame. "Sorry monster, but you're   
  
dead." He dropped the flaming lighter and ran down the hallway,   
  
stopping at about the spot where Gordy was killed. Even with his ears   
  
plugged, Zach could not block out the deafening explosion and the   
  
tormenting screams of the burning Pestilence. After the screams   
  
subsided, Zach chuckled. "Take that, you BITCH." Ears still ringing   
  
from the blast, Zach barely made out some transmission on his radio.  
  
_"emergency......Conf...ence room.....hurr.....serious!!!"_   
  
"Uhm, Conference Room. I guess that's where I'm headed."   
  
Zach walked away with pride towards the conference room. He'd avenged   
  
the death of his friend and beaten the big monster. _"All I need now is  
  
a blonde with nice boobs."_


	10. Enter the Traitor

Five chairs in the Conference Room sat empty and alone, missing  
  
its assigned occupant. On the other hand, the remaining seven seats   
  
were occupied by living, if not very shaken, members of the Omega and   
  
Beta teams. The Beta team had suffered the most, its only remaining   
  
members being Em and Zach. Sean had been the only Omega team casualty.  
  
Suspicion was beginning to arise within the ranks of the soldiers,   
  
and along with it, a foreboding shadow of paranoia.   
  
"Alright, can anybody account for everybody who is missing   
  
right now? We know about Todd, but where is Monty? Where is Gordy, or  
  
Sean, or Nora?" Lyle cleared his throat. "Have they just gotten lost  
  
in this place or were they killed, do any of you guys know?"  
  
Noah spoke, tremors still possessing his quivering hands and   
  
he spoke with nervous, ragged breaths. "_Sh_-_Sh_-Sean's dead. I found   
  
him in _the_.._th_-the locker room. He, he didn-..." Noah stopped. He   
  
secured his hand over his mouth and clenched his eyes shut, sobbing and  
  
rocking back and forth in his chair. Elizabeth left her seat and   
  
consoled Noah, placing her hand on his shoulder and speaking to him   
  
in a quiet, relaxing, and sympathetic tone.  
  
"Alright guys, what happened to the other three?"  
  
Zach spoke up, lighter still held in his gloved hand. "Gordy's  
  
dead too. We ain't jus' dealin' with regular zombies anymore guys.   
  
We ran into this **HUGE** sonovabitch, the thing was at least seven foot   
  
high. The bitch ripped up Gordy real bad, chewed up his insides an'   
  
whipped him around. I dunno what really killed 'im, all that shit or   
  
just the fright. When we first bumped into it he was to a'scared to   
  
move. He just stood there lookin' at the bitch, like he was hypnotized  
  
er somethin'."  
  
"Where is the creature at right now Zach, did it follow you?"  
  
Zach now held the attention of every team member. Their eyes were   
  
cast upon him like a pack of wolves on cornered pray, save for Noah   
  
who was still suffering from his massive panic attack.  
  
"Naww, none you guys gotta worry about that thing anymore. I   
  
lured 'er over in the kitchen and lit 'er up real good." Zach bashed   
  
his fist on the table, still beaming with pride from his kill. "I   
  
didn't check the body or anythin', but judgin' by how that thing was a  
  
screamin', there ain't no way its still walkin' around here."  
  
"I see, brilliant work Miller. We're three men short so far,   
  
but does anybody at all know the wherabouts of Nora and Monty?"  
  
All of the team remained silent.  
  
"_I-I_...I-called them on..on the ra-dio," gasped Noah.  
  
Seemingly unsatisfied, Grace stood up from her seat. "No,   
  
no, no, no. Something just seems way too fishy here. Just think you  
  
guys. Think about how easy it was for us to put a spy here in this   
  
lab! He may have been caught, but-"  
  
Seth interrupted. "Actually, they didn't find out about Doug.  
  
He got caught up in the same mess as all these other Umbrella workers  
  
have gotten into. He got attacked, maybe by something like one of the  
  
monsters that Zach ran into."  
  
"He's right, I was with him."  
  
"Yeah, so was I. I swear to God, there wasn't much of anything  
  
left of Doug. He was just a big pile of shit and blood."  
  
Grace continued on, taking the newly provided information into  
  
account. "So, if we sent our spies to Umbrella's labs here, wouldn't   
  
it make just a wee bit of sense that they would send spies here? C'mon   
  
guys this is fucking Umbrella we're talking about here! Raccoon   
  
coverup, Rockfort Island bombing!!! If they can save their asses from  
  
shit like that don't you think they could be sneaky enough to send **ONE**   
  
little spy to monitor two S.T.A.R.S. teams?"  
  
The soldiers all remained quiet. Elizabeth stood up and took   
  
Grace's side. "Guys, what Grace is saying really does make a lot of   
  
sense. All of our team dropping like flies, and especially Todd's   
  
death! I know the whole 'spy' thing seems sorta far fetched, but it   
  
makes sense!"  
  
"The girls are right. I think Umbrella has got some kind of   
  
wire on us. Who could this spy possibly be though?" questioned Lyle.  
  
"Maybe this two-faced bastard already died too, he or she might  
  
be out of our hair," suggested Em.  
  
"I think it's a crock of bullshit," said Noah, now relieved   
  
from his previous panic attack. "Spies?! Cmon guys this isn't 00  
  
fucking 7!! Get real, we need to think of some kind of plausible   
  
idea. Just because the team's getting killed off by big monsters does  
  
**NOT** mean that there's a traitor among us!!"  
  
All eyes were intentively focused on Noah after his little   
  
rant. Em stood up from his chair and pointed an accusatory finger at  
  
Noah. "That is the **EXACT** words that we'd here from a traitor, huh?  
  
Is that true Noah, are you skulkin' around try to fuck us all over?!  
  
If there's anybody that I'd accuse of being the spy, it would be **YOU**   
  
Noah."  
  
"Holy shit, Em is right guys! Noah's been the spy all along!"  
  
"Wait guys, what are you-"  
  
"Always being scared, it all makes sense. Nobody would suspect  
  
the little scardey cat of being a spy!"  
  
"No it's not what you thi-"  
  
"A very good facade Noah, very good."  
  
"Would you please listen?! I'm not a-" Noah was interrupted   
  
when Em's meaty fist collided with Noah's scrawny face. He tumbled   
  
backwards into his chair and draped over the edge of the armrest,   
  
a tiny stream of blood was flowing from his smashed nose. He felt   
  
hands grab the back of his vest and his arms and legs were lifted from   
  
the ground as he drifted away into the darkness.  
  
--------------------  
  
His eyes opened and began to refocus, adjusting to the new and   
  
different lights of the room. He was in a small, windowless room about   
  
seven feet across and six feet wide. There were shelves adorning   
  
three of the four stainless steel walls, each loaded with food and   
  
other various cooking supplies. Holding his throbbing head, Noah   
  
wiped a string of drool away with his forearm and slowly shuffled   
  
towards the door. _"Wha-, where am I?"_ He remembered Sean, then   
  
calling everybody to the Conference Room. _"Oh shit, they've locked me  
  
up."_ Noah nearly leapt at the Pantry door and repeatedly bashed both  
  
of his tired fists against the silver door and screamed as loud as he  
  
possibly could.  
  
--------------------  
  
The S.T.A.R.S. traitor had been captured and was now contained.  
  
Lyle spoke up. "Very fine work Grace, without your reasoning and   
  
thinking, none of us would have even thought about Noah's deception."  
  
Grace smiled as she received other positive comments while Zach   
  
drifted over towards the now blackened oven. Pestilence's corpse was   
  
all over the back of the kitchen, both arms and her corpulent belly had

exploded and where splattered on the walls of the kitchen. Everything

that was left of Pestilence was severely burned and charred black.  
  
"Guys check this out. Here's what's left of the thing I was   
  
tellin' y'all about." All the soldiers gathered around the decimated   
  
body.  
  
"Damn Zach, you weren't kiddin'."  
  
All the soldiers' hearts skipped a beat when pounding suddenly   
  
erupted from Noah's pantry prison. After realizing it was only the   
  
now conscious Noah, everyone calmed down and ignored the screaming and  
  
pounding.  
  
Lyle groaned, "Alright guys, we have to leave Lyle inside of   
  
the pantry, got it?"  
  
Zach snickered, "Hey Cap'n, Noah is the explosives guy, right?  
  
Doncha think that someone with such 'skill and precision' could blast  
  
his way outta there? Hell, he might just make a bean can grenade!"  
  
After the brief chuckle subsided, Lyle stated, "Even if he did   
  
find a way to blast himself out of there, he'd basically be digging his  
  
own grave. Those shelves would tumble and he'd get caught in the   
  
explosion. Don't worry guys, **NOTHING** is going to happen to Noah   
  
Squyres."  
  
Zach chuckled once more, "Hell, if that's even his real name."


	11. Prison Blues

Dr. Vincent Davi's legs pumped as hard as they possibly could.  
  
The fear pounding at his panicked mind was nearly as loud as his   
  
heart pounding in his chest. He had found the security guard, _damn,   
  
what was his name_, Fox, he had found Fox about fifteen minutes ago and   
  
the pair had been running ever since. Fox had a dead grip on Davi's   
  
bony shoulder, using the frail scientist for as much support as he   
  
could possibly provide as he limped along. They had been running from   
  
the blue eyed boy for seemingly an eternity.  
  
"C-can we stop yet?!" wheezed the sniveling scientist.   
  
Security officer Warren Fox responded only with a primal grunt followed  
  
by a slight nod. Although Fox was the injured one, Davi collapsed   
  
onto the shiny flooring, his tiny body sucking in ragged gasps of air.  
  
Fox scowled at the pathetic little bug and turned to his wounds. The   
  
blue eyed boy had slashed at him quite a few times, his jacket was   
  
stained with furious red lines. Underneath, the wounds were at least   
  
four or five inches past the break in the skin. Fox was a stout,   
  
bulky troll of a man, standing at little over 5'7'' with booming biceps  
  
and pectoral muscles and a prominant gut slightly sagging over his   
  
belt. His grey hair was kept short in a clean cut flattop and he had a  
  
strong, muscular jaw. Vincent Davi, on the other hand, was probably   
  
at least 5'5'' and what seemed to be a mere 100 pounds. He had timid,   
  
mouse-like features with big searching eyes and scanty strands of black  
  
hair brushing the collar of his shirt. His skin was a pale tan and   
  
absolutely screamed sickly. His white lab coat was damp with stains of  
  
sweat and his yellow dress shirt underneath was dotted with spilled   
  
coffee stains, obvious signs of Davi's sleepless work habits. Davi's   
  
whiny voice chimed in, biting at Fox's throbbing head. "So, what do we  
  
do now?" Fox ignored the comment and propped his back against the   
  
wall, popping out the silver cylinder from his .44. The golden shells   
  
fell to the ground, clinging and clanging as the scientist repeated   
  
himself. "Hey, pal, are you alright up there? You liss'ning?" Fox's   
  
thick fingers clamped down on one of the gleaming bullets, returning it  
  
to its home inside of the cylinder. "C'mon quit fucking around and   
  
answer me!" Warren snapped the cylinder shut, leaving the other five   
  
bullets on the ground. "Speak up man!!"  
  
"Shut the hell up and listen to me." Davi immediately reeled   
  
back at Fox's sudden answer. His large eyes were focused on the gun.   
  
"That thing is going to get us, right?" Davi bit at his lip and   
  
solemnly nodded. He wiped his sweat covered palms on his coat. "Then   
  
what exactly do you suppose we do?" Warren began to tap the gun's   
  
silver barrel against his knee, the monotonous tapping becoming   
  
explosions in Davi's frantic brain. He stuttered on his words and   
  
finally spat out an answer.  
  
"I-ah..Uh, I just don't, I don't know man. I don't know what,   
  
don't know what to do." Fox's eyes pinched shut upon hearing Davi and   
  
brought the gun close to his face. He admired the firearm, staring at   
  
it, a small hint of salvation in his tired eyes.  
  
"Well then I know what I'll be doing." Fox clenched his teeth   
  
around the barrel, pushing the scientist's sudden screams out of his   
  
mind with the squeeze of the trigger.  
  
--------------------  
  
Davi screamed and shielded his eyes with his scrawny forearm as  
  
Fox's finger tightened on the trigger. A mist of red leapt onto Davi   
  
after the shot rang off, chunks of the late security guard's skull   
  
peppering his now red and white coat. As if on cue, a door at the end   
  
of the blood spattered hallway opened and Vincent's soul was pierced by  
  
the boy's blue eyes. He scrambled towards Fox's headless corpse,   
  
juggling the smoking gun in his shaking hands. _"Shit, one bullet!!"_   
  
His attention swung over to the five bullets laying next to Fox's leg.  
  
His hand shot downwards, grabbing about three of the five. Two of   
  
the bullets dropped from his quivering grip as one finally made it into  
  
the gun's chamber. _"Fuck, shit how the hell do I use this thing?!"_   
  
He pulled back the hammer and, with both hands tightly gripping the   
  
gun's handle, pointed up at the blue eyed boy, only to find that the   
  
gun's shuddering barrel was facing nothing but air. Blue eyes was   
  
gone, he had somehow vanished. Slowly bringing himself back onto his   
  
feet, Davi shuffled down the hall towards the boy's previous location.  
  
He screamed as he felt the boy's syringe-like fingers stab into the   
  
small of his back. The other four followed in unison, jabbing into   
  
Davi's spine. Davi took off running, feeling the fingers tear from his  
  
back. His screams did not cease as he ran down towards the door, a   
  
steady stream of urine soaking the legs of his pants. The man's   
  
shrieks were immediately cut off when one of the boy's fingers tore   
  
through the back of his neck, shredding through his spinal cord,   
  
impaling through his windpipe and finally poking out through his neck.  
  
He blacked out and died choking on his own blood.  
  
--------------------  
  
Numb and bruised, Noah's fists stopped bashing against the   
  
pantry door - Nobody was coming to let him out. _"I can't believe this,   
betrayed and locked up by my own goddamn team."_ He began to pace back   
  
and forth with what walking room he had in the tiny prison. Sanity   
  
quickly depleting, Noah felt his windpipe begin to tighten. He was   
  
having far too much trouble breathing. The room's walls seemed to be   
  
closing in tighter and tighter, Noah's claustrophobia worsening and   
  
worsening with each passing second. In an attempt to take his mind off  
  
of the situation at hand, he decided to look at the contents of the   
  
shelves. He read the labels of the boxes and cans aloud to himself,   
  
trying to bide time. _"Wheat and Bran Oatmeal, Cinammon Apple Granola   
  
Bars, Briscott Saltine Crackers, Keebler Club Crackers (TM), Chicken   
  
Noodle Soup, Tomato Soup..."_ Noah picked up a packaged loaf of Wonder   
  
Bread, squeezing the soft bread in his hands. He had always loved the   
  
stuff when he was a little kid, eating almost nothing but PB & J   
  
sandwiches, getting the bread caught on the roof of his mouth. Noah   
  
sat down, leaning his back against one of the shelves and began to   
  
search all of his pockets, looking for something, ANYTHING that could  
  
get him out of this hellhole. Everything was gone, his knife, his   
  
bombs, his guns, everything. Realizing that everything for him was   
  
utterly stuck in the shitter, Noah screamed to himself, _"God, why   
  
couldn't they have left me with SOMETHING?! I'd rather die than be   
  
stuck in here. I just wanna DIE!!"_  
  
**_"I can help you with that."  
_**  
A female voice had intruded the sanctity of his own mind, not   
  
even his thoughts were his own anymore. Noah stood up, scanning the   
  
room. Too terrified to speak, Noah grabbed one of the tin cans of   
  
tomato soup from the shelf, arming himself with the only thing he   
  
could. The sounds of chunks of the wall tearing shredded the silence   
  
as a chunk of wall connected to an airvent cover launched itself from   
  
the wall, hitting Noah in the head with a sickening **THUD**. Almost   
  
positive that his skull was now dented, Noah directed his groggy,   
  
blurred vision towards the direction of the flying vent cover. He   
  
started to scream as soon as he saw the slender, feminine, ivory leg   
  
covered with blackened veins slide out of the vent.  
  
--------------------  
  
Seth had agreed to stay behind in the kitchen while the others   
  
made one final rescue search of the lab facility. He paced back and   
  
forth in the decimated kitchen, bored and tired. His fingers wrapped   
  
around the blackened handle of the refridgerator door, leaving black   
  
ash on Seth's ungloved hands as he opened it, which was quickly   
  
brushed off upon his vest. Exploring the contents of the fridge, Seth   
  
snagged a bottle of water and kicked the fridge shut. Seth's dry,   
  
peeling lips thanked him as the crisp water cascaded down his   
  
dehydrated throat. He placed the bottle on one of the kitchen's many   
  
now blackened counters and ventured towards what remained of the oven   
  
and of the creature Zach had obliterated. He focused on its head,   
  
which was now a crispy blackened skull with a gaping mouth which was   
  
far too big. Its eyes had rolled back in their sockets, leaving only   
  
white crisscrossed with red veins. A small tinkle caught Seth's   
  
attention from the side of the creature's head, behind where its ear   
  
would have been. It was a tiny dogtag, embedded in the monster's head.  
  
He knelt down and read aloud, _"Alicia Grey, test subject A, codenamed  
  
Pestilence."_ The rest was just some vital statistics garbage, height,  
  
weight, etc. _"Alicia Grey."_ Seth repeated the name to himself. As   
  
if the idea had struck him like an arrow, he suddenly realized, _"This   
  
has to be Sean's sis."_ The pride that previously had filled Seth from   
  
his discovery had quickly become guilt and pity. _"At least they're   
  
with each other now."_ Seth uttered a small prayer to himself before   
  
his heart jumped into his throat upon hearing a raspy scream from   
  
Noah's pantry prison cell. Instinctively, he grabbed his radio.  
  
--------------------  
  
The five explorers returned breathless upon hearing Seth's   
  
radio message. Em's brow was lined with a firm layer of sweat and Lyle  
  
was nearly panting. "What's going on Seth, what's happened?!"  
  
"First of all, technically, our mission here is complete." A   
  
chorus of questions barraged Seth upon hearing this situation changing   
  
news. "I found the person who we came here to rescue."  
  
"Sean's little sister?! Where'd you find her Seth, where is   
  
she?! Take us to her!" screamed Grace with joy yet tension. Seth   
  
did nothing more than direct the team to Pestilence's charred corpse   
  
with the aid of his index finger. "The fuck...what are you talkin'  
  
about bro?!" Without words, Seth walked over to Pestilence and tapped  
  
at the embedded dogtag with the barrel of his pistol. Lyle stooped   
  
over the twisted head and read the dogtag's contents to the team.  
  
"Alicia Grey. Test Subject A. Codenamed Pestilence. Age: 16.  
  
Hair: Red. Height..." Lyle faded off, realizing the rest of the data  
  
was nothing but irrelevant.  
  
"That's not all. Come here." Seth walked to the now terribly  
  
dented pantry door and kicked it open. The sheer brutality of the   
  
room had an obvious instant affect on everyone, save Seth. Elizabeth   
  
turned and began to vomit, Lyle turned his head in shock, Em shouted a  
  
symphony of curses and slurs, Grace closed her eyes and recited The   
  
Lord's Prayer, while Zach simply stood dumbstruck.

The once medically clean silver room was now almost totally

splattered red. Not one bit of Noah was still attached, fingers and toes

were splayed about on the shelves and floor whilst entrails and

appendage-less limbs sat in a grosteque pile. In the middle of the

room, completely untouched by the blood on its own little clean

island sat Noah's clothing, his vest, undershirt, pants, all neatly folded

and on top of each other with his boots on top, almost similar to how

a mother would lay out her child's clothing for the oncoming day. A

gaping hole sat in the top corner of the room, near the ceiling.

Stretched across the hole and pinned to the sides was Noah's peeled

off face, its eye sockets, nostrils, and mouth now black from the

orifice behind it. A gruesome message was written to the commandos

on the ceiling in red, dripping blood near the hole with Noah's face.

The blood spelled out **"INNOCENT."**


	12. Famine

"We're fucked. Plain and simple people. F-U-C-K-E-D."  
  
"Goddamn Seth! What the hell happened to Noah, did you decide   
  
to let a rhino in there?!"  
  
"No rhino could possibly do something like that." Grace   
  
pointed to the neatly folded pile of clothing, the message written in   
  
blood, and Noah's disdended face. "Zach, how smart was that thing you   
  
and Gordy came across?"  
  
Still mortified yet almost hypnotised by the macabre murder   
  
scene, Zach took almost a full six seconds before coming to and   
  
responding. "Oh, uhh.." A burnt out cigarette was drooping from   
  
Zach's mouth. "It, uh, din't seem too smart. That huge bitch was   
  
more of an animal than anythin'. Like all it wanted was ta get food, to   
  
eat."  
  
Eyes set and focused on the bloody message scrawled on the   
  
ceiling, Seth finished, "A natural instinct to survive. Something   
  
that has no relevance whatsoever concerning this."  
  
Wiping away a little dribble of bile from her mouth with the   
  
shaking back of her hand, Elizabeth piped in. "Something knows what's   
  
going on here. That up there," She directed everyone's attention to   
  
the bloody ceiling. "Is a message, telling us that we've made a   
  
mistake. How I'm taking this, I see that we've accused the wrong man   
  
of something he didn't do."  
  
Em quickly protested. "Wait up now, what if this is Umbrella   
  
just fucking with us?! Lissen, Noah just _might_ have been the traitor,   
  
but who in the Hell killed him? Umbrella coulda done that to their own  
  
guy just to-"  
  
"Build up paranoia. Increase suspicion. Put all of us at each  
  
other's throats." Lyle interjected, the familiar sense of scholarly   
  
wisdom present in his speaking. "I know what you're getting at Em, and  
  
it's quite possible that you could be right. Same goes for you   
  
Elizabeth. These are two very, very logical and sensible explanations.  
  
Em, one thing, do you think anybody is left here in this facility   
  
that's actually alive? Who could be around, who could be here to kill   
  
off Noah and freak us out like this?"  
  
Lyle was answered only with silence as Em turned away. "Yea   
  
Caps, I guess you're right. Lissen, I'm sorry I messed up like that,   
  
it's just this whole thing is just-"  
  
"It's not your fault Em, don't worry. It's none of our faults   
  
guys. This is a very traumatic experience and considering any   
  
alternatives, the lot of us has held up pretty well. What we need to   
  
do is get out of here," proclaimed Elizabeth's calm, comforting

voice. A chorus of agreement answered her suggestion.  
  
--------------------  
  
_"Fuck, goddamn, why am I so friggin' stupid.."_ Zach screamed at  
  
himself as he sprinted through the empty halls. _"...got separated,   
  
how could I have done that..stupid stupid shit..."_ The assuredly tired  
  
soldiers had opted to leave the Umbrella facility and back to their   
  
S.T.A.R.S. headquarters. Meanwhile, Zach had somewhat dawdled,   
  
checking Gordy's charred corpse, or skeleton rather, considering the  
  
severity of the burns, taking his tags with him. Upon grabbing the   
  
tags and placing them in his vest pocket, he had run out to find only   
  
an empty hallway, the homeward bound soldiers had lost him. _"And of   
  
course I had to go and panic..stupid stupid me."_ Discovering that he   
  
had been accidentaly left behind, Zach began sprinting from hall to   
  
hall, which now had left him lost and confused. This lab was far   
  
bigger than Zach had previously imagined.  
  
**_-click- -click- -click-_**  
  
Zach's running came to an immediate halt upon hearing the   
  
echoing clicks from down the hall. The silver door at the end of the   
  
hallway was wide open, and Zach saw something, something that looked   
  
like someone's leg. The person was off to the side, obstructed by the   
  
frame of the door. Unholstering his Beretta, Zach slowly prowled over   
  
towards the open door, none of his footsteps making even the slightest   
  
noise. Upon making it through the door, Zach discovered that the leg   
  
did indeed belong to someone, an Umbrella scientest to be precise. An   
  
Umbrella scientist whose entire upper torso was ridden of skin, baring   
  
red fleshy muscle and tissue. A line of dots punctured through his   
  
exposed throat and he reeked of blood, death, and piss. There was a   
  
gaping hole in his chest, and as Zach looked further down the hall, he   
  
saw a left ribcage laying in a puddle of scarlet. _"Ate his damn   
  
heart. Holy shit."_ Not too far from the ribcage was an older   
  
gentleman who had no head above the lower jawbone. What remained of   
  
his head was an almost V-shaped splatter of blood and brain that layed   
  
on the wall which he leaned against. At the end of this hall of death   
  
stood a scrawny shrimp of a man, no, a boy. Zach guessed he was no   
  
older than fourteen. The boy had no body fat on him whatsoever. His   
  
grey, almost green-blue skin was tightly stuck to his bones. He   
  
was all to similar to the famine victims, usually from third world   
  
countries, who were often seen in National Geographic magazines. His   
  
hairless head, or skull even, gleamed in the light from the hallways   
  
overhead lights, greenish-brown saliva oozed from his thin lipless   
  
mouth. His blue owl-like eyes were focused on Zach's gun and his   
  
slender, elegant fingers were twitching. The stick-man's fingers were   
  
tipped with six to eight inch claws, but not claws in the sense of a   
  
bear's claws, but more similar to a greatly elongated syringe. All ten  
  
fingers were coated with red. Zach was startled as the blue eyed boy   
  
ran, no, dashed towards him. Zach's eyes shut as he squeezed the   
  
trigger, surprised to hear the bullet ricochet off of the metal door   
  
rather than embed itself in the boy's frail chest. His eyes opened and  
  
the boy was gone, as if he had vanished into thin air. A chill ran   
  
up his spine, triggering goosebumps to invade his arms as a wet, raspy   
  
moan hissed almost right next to his ear. He screamed, a hoarse, tired  
  
cry as he fell to the ground. A firey, blistering pain shot through   
  
his body even before he hit the ground, a pain from his foot. Famine   
  
had slashed at the hell of Zach's boot, easily severing the fragile   
  
Achilles Tendon. His now bloodstained hands grabbed at his stinging   
  
foot as he clenched his teeth, hearing them crack as his jaw bit down.  
  
Through tear-filled eyes, Zach could see a blurry image of the boy   
  
standing over him, as Pestilence had stood over Gordy. Awaiting his   
  
death, Zach saw Famine's needle fingers approach his wet, teary   
  
eyeballs. He felt another pain, but only a brief one, a piercing pain   
  
in his eyes. The pain was numbed as the syringe fingers shot through   
  
Zach's brain, sending him into the dark vortex where Gordy was now   
  
reciding with all of the others, all of the dead men and women.  
  
--------------------  
  
** "ZACH!"  
  
"ZAAACH!!!"**

** "ZAAACHARY!!"  
  
"ZACH, C'MON WHERE ARE YOU?!"**  
  
Elizabeth and Grace screamed and hollared for the lost Zach as   
  
they ventured through the halls. The two had agreed to hunt for Zach   
  
while the remaining three, Lyle, Em, and Seth, waited for them in the   
  
Conference Room. Upon arriving in the Conference Room, the five had   
  
found a map, presumably left for them, on the large beautiful table.   
  
It was a map of the entire facility and one specific hallway was marked  
  
with a large red X. Elizabeth and Grace had taken the map with them   
  
as an aid in their current errand of finding Zach. A brutal, pain-  
  
filled scream ripped through the air as the women approached the "X   
  
Hallway" on the map. "God, I think it came from the hall..."  
  
Grace silently bobbed her head, acknowledging Elizabeth. She   
  
drew her pistol and slowly made for the door with Elizabeth close

behind. Grace threw open the door and raised her pistol, seconds

seemingly becoming long, rigorous hours. There was an open door at

the end of the bloodstained hallway. Two corpses resided there, one

skinned, the other headless while in the corner, a stick-thin boy with

grey, deathly skin plunged needle-tipped fingers into their comrade

Zach's eyes. He spasmed on the ground, his leg kicking into the air,

squirting blood from his heel onto the floor before returning. Grace

fired, the round hitting the blue eyed boy in its frail shoulder.

Greenish-brown blood oozed from the bullet wound and from its

slit of a mouth. He hissed at Grace before seemingly vanishing, more

like blurring away. Grace could hear the quick pitter-patter of little

feet as he disappeared.

"Come out here you little bastard." Grace stepped further into

the hall but suddenly stopped not long after passing Warren Fox's

body. Right when she stopped, a mist of red hit Elizabeth in the face,   
spraying from her cut arteries. A solemn, serious look of fear and   
  
determination remained on Grace's face as her head rolled off of her   
  
shoulders and collided with the floor, adding even more blood to the   
  
already bloodied floor. Her body was not far behind, hitting the   
  
ground with a naseating **THUD**. Blood from the draining arteries   
  
continued to spill, steadily feeding the growing crimson puddle. The   
  
puddle reached out and touched Grace's head, staining her cheek and   
  
ear. Elizabeth unslung her automatic rifle from around her shoulder   
  
and began to scream.  
  
**"COME OUT HERE YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!"  
**  
Elizabeth heard the recurring pitter patter of fleeting feet   
  
along with another sound, almost like someone tapping a pencil against   
  
another pencil. _Claws tapping against each other._ The taps continued   
  
as she scanned the room for the life stealing Famine.   
  
**_-click- -click- -click- -click- -click-_**


	13. The Diary of Death

The three remaining gentlemen of the team stopped short before   
  
opening the door leading to the Conference Room. Em stood in front of   
  
the door, preventing either of the other two from entering. "Hey Caps,  
  
I'm kinda worried about them bein' outnumbered or somethin. Or what   
  
if they run into whatever fucked up Noah? I think we should go and   
  
help em out."  
  
"But Em, we don't even know where the Hell they are. How can   
  
we help them if we can't find them?" Silence stood immenantly between   
  
the men, each pondering the logic and reasonability of the newly   
  
created idea. Seth spoke first, raising his index finger as he began   
  
to speak, as if to hold on to his idea.  
  
"They have to be North, or at least they should be. We lost   
  
Zach at the Kitchen, and the Kitchen is up North, through the door in   
  
the Conference Room. They should be around there, yeah?" Silence once  
  
again filled the North Hall as Seth's idea processed itself into the   
  
brains of Lyle and Em. Even more damage had been done, proven by the   
  
still warm 9mm shells and the still bleeding corpses residing on the   
  
floor. A light had been shot out, dimming that particular section of   
  
the Intersection, casting a blackish hue over the pools of red and   
  
newly formed shadows danced upon the mocking faces of the downed   
  
undead. It seemed that their groans could be head throughout the   
  
entire laboratory, as if there were always one certain zombie stalking   
  
and chasing you, waiting for you ultimate demise. Seth shuddered as   
  
he imagined this stalking zombie and his heart skipped a beat when Lyle  
  
suddenly began to speak.  
  
"I think Seth's got a real solid idea. Unless this place is   
  
some sort of insane labyrinth, it would be the safest guess that Zach   
  
and the girls would be past the Conference Room, so let's get to it."   
  
Lyle firmly squeezed the doorknob in his sweating hands and   
  
slowly turned it, cautiously opening the door and peering through.   
  
Once the door had been opened, a new visitor was revealed. He looked   
  
rather dead, slouched back in one of the twelve chairs, his head   
  
tilted over the back with his mouth wide open, eyes closed. Both hands  
  
swung freely past the chairs armrests. He was an older man,   
  
presumably in his late 40's to early 50's as shown by the few grey   
  
streaks which cut through his otherwise light chesnut brown hair. He   
  
showed signs of a desperate workaholic, his hair was disorderly, parts   
  
of his dress shirt were untucked, and considerable stubble sat upon his  
  
face. Lyle slowly approached the man, first, gently placing a finger   
  
on the man's carotid artery, checking for his pulse. He turned to the   
  
other two and made a gesture of mock slumber, their scientist wasn't   
  
dead, just snoozing. Lyle knelt down and unsnapped the plastic ID card  
  
from the man's pocket. His eyes widened as he read the name, "Doctor   
  
Peter Keyes."   
  
"Holy shit, we've got Keyes, he's the one that started all this  
  
right Caps?" whispered Em. "What the hell should we do with him?" He  
  
leaned over and looked at the scientist again.  
  
"You two go and look for Beth and Grace, alright? I'll stay   
  
here and keep an eye on Keyes, make sure he doesn't pull anything."  
  
Lyle and Em looked at Seth with almost pure insanity, but with   
  
heartfelt thanks at the same time. "Sounds like a plan DeMarco. We'll  
  
be back."  
  
"Hopefully not in chunks," Em joked as he and Lyle left the   
  
room, quietly closing the door behind them. Seth walked over towards   
  
the sleeping doctor and noticed what was on the fine emerald table in   
  
front of him. He first grabbed the manila folder, opening it only to   
  
find a single sheet of paper. He put the folder back on the table   
  
before reading the paper.  
  
"6/6/03. 6:00 PM. Head Researcher: Peter Keyes. Experiment:   
  
'The Four Horsemen Project' a.k.a. 'Operation Revelation.' Synopsis:   
  
Develop upon the Tyrant-super soldier formula, working on and deleting   
  
its flaws. Test Subjects: Alicia Grey, Nathan Carrey, Robert Peters,   
  
Cassandra Keyes. Experimentation begins July 10th of 2003. Estimated   
  
completion date: 10/24/04."  
  
Seth set the paper back in its folder, astonished, uttering a   
  
small "Holy fuck" to himself. "The completion date was in a month, to   
  
the day." Picking up the paper once again, Seth revealed data on the   
  
other side of the paper.  
  
"Test Subject Data. Subject 1: Alicia Grey. Born 10/2/87.   
  
Will undergo muscle enhancers and growth aids, hopefully creating an   
  
invincible tank of a soldier. Subject 2: Nathan Carrey.   
  
Born 12/30/88. Will undergo numerous weight loss and steroid drugs.  
  
Desired effect is a soldier with increased speed and stealth   
  
capabilities. DNA and gene splicing will be necessary. Subject 3:   
  
Robert Peters. Born 9/25/84. Subject will undergo same treatment as   
  
Subject 1." Seth checked his watch after reading Subject 3's bio,   
  
noticing that it was 12:36 AM, September 25th. Robert Peter's would be  
  
celebrating his 20th birthday today. "Subject 4: Cassandra Keyes.   
  
Born 4/27/87. Will undergo massive brain treatment with enhancement   
  
drugs and permformance enhancers with the hopes of a psychic super   
  
soldier. Treat subject with extreme care." Seth could only think to   
  
himself, "Wow." Four totally normal children sucked in by Umbrella to   
  
become the new "world's finest." A new deepened hatred for Umbrella   
  
set itself deep into Seth's heart as he folded and pocketed the paper.  
  
Pushing the manila folder aside, Seth came across a black and white   
  
composition notebook. The name on the front was neatly printed "OpRev   
  
Subject 4: Cassandra Keyes." He took a seat across from the still   
  
sleeping Keyes and began to read.  
  
--------------------  
  
-click- -click- -click-  
  
Elizabeth was nearly spinning in circles, trying to track down   
  
Famine. She could easily hear his clicking claws, but saw nothing but   
  
quick blurs. She suddenly opened a quick circular burst of fire,   
  
attempting to hit the creature, wherever it was. The clicks stopped   
  
for a moment, their ceasing adding great tension upon Elizabeth's   
  
already tense nerves.  
  
-click- -click- -click- -click-  
  
The clicking resumed and Elizabeth let out a loud, aggrevated   
  
scream of fury. "Get out here you little fuck!" She unsheathed her   
  
combat knife from its sheath, holding it not far from her sweating   
  
face. One of the ceiling lights was desperately flickering and, at   
  
some points, even sparking. A quick blur shot past the wall to her   
  
right, which she immediately swung towards, the blade sticking nothing   
  
but wall. The clicking had gone down considerably, Elizabeth smiled at  
  
the idea that she might have wounded it. The clicking suddenly   
  
stopped once again, her grip on the knife's hilt increased greatly.   
  
Her heart a beating drum inside her chest, Elizabeth slowly began to   
  
proceed foreward, taking slow baby steps. Thinking first that the wall  
  
itself had moved, she blinked to reveal that it WAS moving, the boy   
  
camoflauging himself to blend in with the bloodstained wall. She   
  
quickly armed herself with her auto once more and opened fire on   
  
Famine. She could hear wet cries of pain and raspy moans as she shot,   
  
a cutting white smile appeared on her otherwise red, bloodsplattered   
  
face, a smile of sheer vengeance, violence and first blood being shed.  
  
She released her finger from the trigger, seeing now that the blur   
  
was leaving a trail of dark green blood. She heard Famine hiss from   
  
behind but before she could whip around, the boy cut into her thigh and  
  
threw her to the ground. As the now torn and bleeding Famine   
  
approached her, his cold blue eyes focused on her quivering throat,   
  
Elizabeth did the only thing she could do, she screamed.  
  
--------------------  
  
The man loomed over the mass of computer monitors, their lit   
  
screens casting a mask of blue over his face. He had successfully   
  
bent the Omega and Beta teams to his will, everything as of yet had   
  
been going to plan. He strolled over to a monitor to the far left,   
  
observing it. Captain Lyle Stevens and Eric Emerson were slowly   
  
creeping through the hall, not far from Elizabeth Lee and Test Subject   
  
2. The traitor grinned as he thought of Famine's capabilities and   
  
what he could do to the nearly defenseless medic. His eyes flew from   
  
the security monitors to the poorly maintained power grid. His   
  
finger waved over the abundance of glowing buttons, searching them.   
  
"Eenie, meenie, miney..." his finger hovered over the button labeled   
  
North Hall Route A, "mo."  
  
--------------------  
  
The composition book belonging to Cassandra Keyes just   
  
happened to be a diary. Seth scanned through the numerous entries, as   
  
each page of the book was filled, front to back. One particularly   
  
caught his eye, one mentioning all of the Subjects.  
  
"August 28, '03. The scientists here have finally finished   
  
testing us, I dunno what for, probably our IQs and whatever. Now   
  
they've rounded all four of us up, and here we are living in this   
  
place. I'm kinda uncomfortable, since we're all sharing one room.   
  
Alicia is really nice, Nathan is nice but really shy, but that Peters   
  
guy, he really creeps me out.  
  
October 1, '03. They started experimenting on Alicia, how   
  
ironic, the day before her birthday. I wonder why Dad works here,   
  
the people here just seem too twisted.  
  
November 8, '03. Alicia's grown at least a foot and gained   
  
somewhere around 80 to 90 pounds overnight. Some 'wonder drug.' Now   
  
she's about 5'11' and what I'd guess to be 230 lbs. Is that what we   
  
were sent here for, to be fattened up by a bunch of scientists?!  
  
January 14, '04. Alicia's weight fluctuated a helluva lot,   
  
she'd like lose and gain forty pounds at a time just over a day. I   
  
can only imagine how fucked up her DNA is by now. She doesn't talk   
  
much anymore, just stares off into space.  
  
March 2, '04. They started experimenting on Nathan last week,   
  
and now they've taken Alicia out of our room. She lunged at Rob, tried  
  
to tear his face off. I'm sad that she's gone, but I'm also sad that   
  
she never got to kill him. He's an egotistical fucktard and I'm   
  
afraid at what he thinks about when he stares at me.  
  
April 25, '04. Nathan's literally becoming a human skeleton.   
  
He's dwindled away to about 57 pounds, but his height never got   
  
messed with like Alicia's, still stands at about 4'11''. He doesn't   
  
talk much either anymore, I think his brain has just rotted away, like   
  
Ali's did. They never told us where they took her, the only thing I   
  
know is they supposedly worked the flaws out of her treatment and   
  
that's what Rob'll get. Rob and I become guinea pigs in four days, and  
  
I can't help but cry thinking I'll end up like Nathan or Alicia."  
  
Seth noticed how that particular page was stale, probably it   
  
had previously held the tears of this Cassandra girl, whose numerous   
  
entries had torn at his heart as he read, he flipped through more pages  
  
and continued reading. These newer entries seemed far longer and her   
  
handwriting was becoming smaller and more precise.  
  
"June 12th, 2004. Poor Nathan has been taken, assuredly to the  
  
same place as Alicia. Testing began for Rob and I, the effects more   
  
than noticable. Rob has considerably grown, now nearing about 6'7'',   
  
give or take a few inches. Muscles cover his body, as if for our   
  
entire captivity he has done nothing but strenous weight lifting. I   
  
haven't noticed any physical changes in myself, but as I compare my   
  
newer journal entries to the old ones, I can tell that their brain   
  
enhacing medicines have worked. They shaved all of the hair from the   
  
right side of my head, and tiny capsules are now embedded there. They   
  
remind me of smokestacks, like the smokestacks found on grand cruise   
  
liners. I can feel the medicine from the capsules work on my brain,   
  
nourishing it. I only hope I'm not driven insane by them.  
  
August 30th, 2004. I've done it. I have killed Robert Peters.  
  
Only a few moments ago he approached me as I slept. My perception   
  
has greatly expanded and I could, even in my subconscious, see his   
  
sneaking towards me. I'm sure he was intending the worst, rape being   
  
the most logical of choices, but I stopped him. His bone structure   
  
was now greatly altered, his bulging forearms concealing structures of  
  
bone, almost like swords. He had them sticking from his arms before   
  
he died. I awoke and he tried to silence me, his bladed hands flying   
  
towards my face, but I thought him away. I focused on Rob hurting, and  
  
it happened. I tore off the top of Robert Peter's head, and as much   
  
as I hate to admit it, I enjoyed it. I'm sure I'll be put away this   
  
morning when they find the body, unless they can bring him back, which   
  
even I highly doubt can be done. I can only hope that they end my now   
  
wretched existence, I want nothing more than to be with my father   
  
again, I love him so much, and all I wanted to do was make him happy.   
  
Dad, if you read this, I hope that is what I've succeeded in doing."  
  
The journal abruptly ended after that, and Seth slowly put it   
  
back onto the table, unhostering his Beretta and walking towards the   
  
unaware and defenseless Keyes, blind fury burning in his eyes.  
  
--------------------  
  
The lights went out. "OH FUCK IT ALL!" Em screamed as he and   
  
Lyle now sat in pitch black. The groaning of the undead seemed to   
  
intensify, worrying the two soldiers. Lyle jumped when the sudden   
  
chatter of machine gun fire blasted from the distance. "Shit Caps,   
  
it's Liz! Where the fuck is she?!" Not long after the gunfire, a loud  
  
scream filled the ears of the two worried men, but not a scream of   
  
terror or pain. It was a scream of primal fury and rage.  
  
"Get out here you little fuck!"  
  
Em and Lyle scrambled in the dark, smashing into walls until   
  
they finally reached the door. They threw themselves into a new   
  
hallway, at the end of this one was an opened door, where new screams   
  
erupted. The lights flickered deceptively, shooting off quick shadows   
  
as they ran through the open door. Lyle's boots slid on the blood   
  
covered floor and Em shrieked as his head hit the floor with an almost   
  
deafening -CRACK-. A short little skeleton thing was perched over   
  
Elizabeth, and Em ran towards it, gun drawn.  
  
--------------------  
  
An almost pathetic defense, Elizabeth held her shaking arms   
  
in front of her face, knowing that nothing could prolong her now   
  
imminant death. The flashing lights were similar to that of a strobe   
  
light, intensifying Famine's grostequely skeletal face. She heard a   
  
loud THUD and Em hollar, causing her to sit up with surprise. "EM?!?!"  
  
Holes peppered through Famine's face, spraying the green-brown blood   
  
onto Elizabeth's face, covering the now dried blood of Grace DeMarco.   
  
Famine's body fell on top of Elizabeth, spasming once more before   
  
becoming still. She threw the body off and felt the warmth of Em's   
  
hand grabbing her own. He helped her up and she nearly threw herself   
  
into him as he caught her in a comforting bear hug. The two stood   
  
there, Elizabeth's sobs echoing through the hall, its flashing lights   
  
mocking the soldiers as they had yet again outsmarted death. Em slung   
  
the unconscious Lyle over his shoulder and the soldiers left the hall,   
  
leaving the death behind. 


	14. War

Robert Peters arrived in the dimmed, flickering room only to   
  
see the opposite door close. He saw his enemies, but all of them were   
  
already killed. Robert was very good at killing, and all of his many   
  
enemies ran away from him, a lot. He picked up the smallest enemy and   
  
looked at it. It was very small, just bones and no meat. He ignored   
  
the rest of the enemies and walked over to the door. He wasn't very   
  
good at doors but he was learning. Enemies were usually always hiding   
  
behind doors, and Robert liked to kill them. He made the thing come   
  
out of his arm before setting his hand on the door opener. He didn't   
  
know what the thing from his arm was, but it made the killing easier   
  
and faster for him, so he liked it. He opened the door and Robert and   
  
saw the enemies he loved to pursue, screaming. They began to run,   
  
and Robert was very excited as he began to chase them.  
  
--------------------  
  
A sheet of red pain flashed upon Peter Keyes's dozing mind as   
  
a Beretta handgun slapped across the side of his head. He fell from   
  
his seat, the wind being taken from him as he hit the cold floor. The   
  
steel toe of a military boot shot into his side, flipping him onto his   
  
back and snapping ribs as easily as one could tear a tissue. He cried   
  
in pain and attempted to make out his assailant. He was of average   
  
height and weight, clad in black fatigues and a black bulletproof   
  
Kevlar vest. He had penetrating green eyes, his brown hair styled into  
  
spikes, spikes which were now wilted from sweat and blood.  
  
"W-what's the meaning of this?"  
  
The young man's face was filled with hatred and emotion.   
  
"You took innocent children, including your own daughter, your own   
  
DAUGHTER for chrissakes!! And what did you do to them?! You turned   
  
them into goddamned guinea pigs! What kind of a person can do that?   
  
What kind of a person can tinker with his own flesh and blood?! Are   
  
you people monsters, is there any fucking morality in that black heart   
  
of yours?! Tell me, before I put a bullet into it."  
  
His already regret-filled heart sank down even lower as this   
  
soldier once again brought up his work on the project. "Listen..I-"   
  
Keyes stopped in an attempt to gain his composure. He stood up and   
  
continued, "Placing my daughter in this experiment was my last resort.   
  
There was _nothing_ else I could have possibly done. Cassandra's genetic   
  
makeup was the only one that I knew could be compatible with the   
  
experiment. I had tried my own DNA and even the DNA of my son, but   
  
neither worked. She was the only exception."  
  
"Then why not scrap the goddamn project?!"  
  
"Umbrella would have put a bullet in my head, and more than   
  
likely a bullet for everyone in my family. Covering up their tracks is  
  
Umbrella's specialty. Had I chosen to leave the project, Alexander,   
  
Cassandra, or myself might spread word of these experiments on minors,   
  
and Umbrella would suffer greatly."  
  
"Alexander, he's your son right?" Keyes responded with a

solemn nod. "But why couldn't you quit Umbrella or something?"

The soldier had become calm, his anger flushing away from his now

almost concerned face.  
  
"Same scenario. Umbrella would wipe out my family and myself,   
erasing any speck of evidence that I ever worked for them. They know   
what they're doing, they got away with the Raccoon City disaster, I'm   
  
sure they've already got a story to tell the public when this place   
  
blows." Guilt and insignificance sat upon the researcher's pale face.

Bitter silence sat among the men for a brief time before Keyes grimly

said, "I doubt that there is any way Umbrella can be beaten."  
  
--------------------  
  
Em, Elizabeth, and the unconscious Lyle left "Famine's Hall"   
  
only to find themselves once again, in the lightless room. Em's first   
  
instinct was, of course, to curse.  
  
"Fuckin' bullshit, not this again! God-fuckin'-dammit!" Em's   
  
boot smashing against the wall echoed through the otherwise still and   
  
lifeless hall. Elizabeth felt Em's hand against her side, "Hey, grab   
  
my hand. The last thing we need is to lose you now too." His massive   
  
hand wrapped around hers and they began to progress foreward, only to   
  
stop and snap their heads around when the door behind them opened,   
  
spilling a small bit of light into the room, enough light to see the   
  
horrible abomination that stood before them.   
  
A creature ducked its head under to step into the room, its   
  
massive 9 foot body too big for the doorway. Its muscles were utterly   
  
huge, with a chest that had to be four feet across and possibly 78 inch  
  
biceps. Its head was comically tiny for its bulging body, but its   
  
size was the only thing humorous about it. The left side of his face   
  
had been stripped of flesh, leaving only the dark red tissue plastered   
  
to its skull. Its left eye was lidless, the eyeball itself a white   
  
soulless orb. The other eye was a tiny slit, the white eye beneath   
  
seeming almost evil in its concealed nature. The thing lacked a nose,   
  
its substitute being two gaping black holes. A crude line of staples   
  
cut across what would have been its mouth, pinning flesh onto flesh,   
  
almost creating some sort of cruel smile. The staples continued all   
  
the way around its head, as if the top half of his head had been torn   
  
off and was now only held on by the staples. Across its gigantic   
  
pectoral muscles and down its abdominals was a gaping Y-Shaped   
  
incision, the same kind used on autopsies. It was held shut by   
  
stitches, but the stitches seemed to give way, barely keeping   
  
themselves in the flesh. It's left arm was mottled with the fleshless   
  
tissue, and from its forearm protruded a grim spike of bone, soaked   
  
with dark red stains of blood. His skin was a sickening hue of red,   
  
not too different from the dried blood that masked Elizabeth's face.  
  
Although the creature was obviously mute, Elizabeth could   
  
almost hear it roaring into her ear as Em almost yanked her arm out of   
  
its socket, whipping her along as he took off in a full sprint.  
  
--------------------  
  
Lyle's vision returned to him, but he saw nothing aside from   
  
ominous black. He was thrashing against something, it felt like cloth   
  
but much thicker, something he couldn't determine. He could hear   
  
panting and the pounding of footsteps, and realized he was upside down,   
  
arms dangling and swaying. He heard the familiar sound of a door   
  
opening and squinted as light flooded his eyes. The said door slammed   
  
and the thrashing stopped. He realized that he was thrown over Em's   
  
shoulder, he had no idea why, and had no time to contemplate when he   
  
heard wood splintering and Em scream, almost cueing the thrashing. The   
  
door almost literally exploded, splinters hitting against Lyle's   
  
shoulders.  
  
He looked up to see a musclebound monstrosity with a huge claw   
  
pursuing them. His brain was too flustered for him to emit a scream,   
  
but his clammy hands scrambled towards Em's holster and succeeded and   
  
pulling out his Beretta. He arched his back upwards so he was looking   
  
right at the monster and began to vigorously fire at its grinning,   
  
pumpkin-like face. It continued to run, almost unaffected by the   
  
rounds. He stopped firing at the oncoming creature when, after   
  
traversing many halls, Em finally stopped. Lyle soon found himself   
  
back on his own two feet, slightly dizzy from the quick change of   
  
perspective. Seth and Keyes were standing in the Conference Room   
  
he was now standing with Elizabeth and Em.   
  
"We have to go. **Now**," proclaimed Elizabeth, not a hint of   
  
doubt in her voice. No one commented on her command, only silently   
  
obeying as the four soldiers headed towards the Intersection with Dr.   
  
Peter Keyes. As they neared the door to the Main Hall, they could hear  
  
the very familiar sounds of shuffling feet. Seth punched out the   
  
glass of a fire emergency case and wrapped his now bleeding hand around  
  
the handle of the fire axe, holding it tightly as they approached the   
  
apparantly occupied Main Hall.


	15. Showdown in the Main Hall

Montgomery's blood filled eyes searched the Main Hall for more food,   
  
but he could find nothing to sedate his raging hunger. The itchiness   
  
had become even worse, flesh peeling away from the bone and falling   
  
onto the floor in sickening sheets. His jaw was shaking and quivering,  
  
a steady stream of saliva mixed with blood covered his mouth and   
  
shirt. He had earlier stripped away his Kevlar vest, seeing no further  
  
use of it. Scratching at his bicep, Monty let out a small gasp as   
  
another one of his yellowing fingernails ripped away from the flesh,   
  
clattering to the floor as a globe of blood formed on the nail-less   
  
finger. He cravingly put the bleeding appendage in his mouth and the   
  
blood felt almost rejuvinating. He shuffled over once again to Nora's   
  
corpse, he had set it next to the door to the Intersection after their   
  
little, "duel." He wearily turned towards the said door once he   
  
spotted its silver handle slowly moving.  
  
--------------------  
  
The cold steel doorknob bit into Seth's cut hand as he threw it  
  
open with full force. A shrouded figure stood at least a foot away   
  
from the now opened door, his head instinctively swinging towards Seth.  
  
His heart pumping with fright, Seth's arm reeled back, his other hand  
  
flew from the doorknob to meet its partner on the axe's handle. The   
  
axe swung in a horizontal arc. The blade sliced into the man's neck,   
  
eating its way through arteries, veins, and vertebra before lodging   
  
itself into the opposite wall. Seth reeled back when the now severed   
  
head revealed itself to be that of the Beta Commander Richard   
  
Montgomery, who the survivors had previously thought to be dead. The   
  
screams of his teammates were irrelevant as he fell onto his hands and   
  
knees and heaved what was left of his meal, a half digested penut   
  
butter sandwich and Sunkist orange soda, onto the floor. The puddle   
  
of vomit merged with a separate pool of blood, a pool which Seth   
  
followed until his eyes met with Nora's mutilated corpse. A pistol   
  
layed in her hands, the bullet taking a new residence within her skull,  
  
an obvious suicide. However, deep red slashes were scattered across   
  
her body, knife slashes, and one of her arms was stripped nearly to the  
  
bone, as if a dog had chewed away at it.  
  
Nora's corpse had triggered a previously unseen rage in Em, his  
  
typical obscenity-filled tantrums now transformed into an act of sheer  
  
rage. His screams filled the Main Hall, screams of loss, angst, and   
  
fury. **"YOU _PROMISED_ ME!!!"** Em launched his foot into Monty's rotting   
  
headless body, sending it spiraling into the air. His fingers dug into  
  
the curly locks of hair on Monty's severed head and lifted it so he   
  
was staring into his dull, blank eyes. "You.._promised_...me..." The   
  
head fell from his numb hands as he began to sob. The remaining three   
  
came towards Em, an act of comfort and a subtle apology. A shrill   
  
"**BING**!" squealed from what seemed like one of the thick walls, a sound   
  
very similar to the chimes of an elevator reaching its designated   
  
floor. All of the tired S.T.A.R.S. members ventured towards the large   
  
reception desk in the center of the room and searched the walls in   
  
confusion. All eyes shot to the wall to the right, where two segments   
  
of wall folded outward, a secret doorway. Immediately after the door   
  
completely opened, automatic fire erupted from the newly revealed   
  
passage. Only Elizabeth escaped unscathed after the bullets flew into   
  
Seth's left arm and leg, Em's right shoulder, and the majority of the   
  
rounds took out both of Lyle's knees. Lyle fell against the desk,   
  
blood gratuitously flowing from his damaged legs as one very precise   
  
bullet punched through Dr. Keyes temple, shredding through skull and   
  
brain matter before tearing its way out through the other side of his   
  
head. He fell limp to the ground as the mystery attacker stepped out   
  
of the secret elevator.  
  
The man stood at 5'7'' and weighing 144 pounds, clad in a   
  
bloodied lab coat. Strands of messy brown hair drifted close to his   
  
eyes and he wore a sly grin on his face. In his hands he held a still   
  
smoking Uzi. "Well, it's nice to finally reunite isn't it?" said Sean   
  
in a calm, collected voice. "I'm very surprised to see how many of you  
  
actually survived. I'll admit, Pestilence was _very_ disappointing,   
  
only ridding this world of Mr. Amos. Famine did a bit better, but I   
  
was expected so much more from War. Oh well, we all have our own   
  
little disappointments don't we?"  
  
"Wait up one fuckin' second! What the hell is all this? Noah   
  
was all shaken up because he saw you-"  
  
"Dead? That was quite a trick, I must give myself credit for.  
  
I couldn't have done it without the good doctor Terrence Mann. You   
  
see, I went to explore the Lockers where I stumbled across Dr. Mann's   
  
headless corpse. After a little clothing switch, nobody would be able   
  
to tell who's body that really was, mine or Mann's! See for yourself."  
  
Sean flicked a plastic ID card at the soldiers from his pocket, which  
  
which indeed did belong to a man named Terrence Mann. "Wonderful,   
  
wouldn't you agree?" The same smug smile was still plastered on the   
  
traitor's face.  
  
Squeezing his wounded arm, Seth enquired, "Why the hell did you  
  
do all of this, who exactly are you? What else don't we know about   
  
this godforsaken place?!"  
  
"Aah, I figured one of you would ask this. You see, Sean Grey   
  
would not be my birthname. My name is actually Mr. Alexander Keyes."   
  
A glaring silence stood between the soldiers and the traitor as his   
  
plan began to unfold. "Sean Grey is a fictional alias I created upon   
  
researching the subjects of this experiment. The one I obviously chose  
  
was Alicia Grey, of whom I share no real relation to. My motive?   
  
It's all really just a case of bad blood. I wanted to participate in   
  
this experiment, but my father, the now late Peter Keyes, refused.   
  
However, my sister, the fucking favorite of the family, was accepted.   
  
They claimed that my recessive genes would no react properly to the   
  
medications and brain enhancers, but I knew it was all bullshit. Since  
  
the project began, I've made numerous attempts to foil it, but to no   
  
avail, until now. With you as my pawns, it has all gone perfectly.   
  
As for this facility? What you have explored is merely _one sixth_ of   
  
this place. It was purposely built like this after the Raccoon fiasco  
  
in case of investigators. The elevators were built in and hidden by   
  
the walls, which led to the real labs. All that you have seen shares   
  
little to no relevance to this project. Feel pretty used now, don't   
  
you?"  
  
Seething with anger at Sean's betrayal, Lyle unholstered and   
  
raised his pistol, only to hear the dry click of an empty clip, the   
  
bullets all wasted in the attack against War. Sean laughed as he   
  
retaliated with a bullet in Lyle's head. His head drew back and fell   
  
forward, blood and brain leaking through the newly created hole.  
  
"Just to assure my safety and your own, would all of you please  
  
toss aside your firearms? Oh, pretty please?"  
  
Em spoke furiously through clenched teeth, "You fuckin' cunt,   
  
I'll get you for this, I swear to it."  
  
After the weapons clattered to the floor, Sean's smile grew all   
  
the more as he continued, "Actually, you won't, as much as I hate to   
  
disappoint you," Sean's slender hand snuck into his pocket. He pulled   
  
out a tiny control tipped with a glowing red button. "This entire lab   
  
has been rigged with high powered explosives in key points of the lab.  
  
There won't be a speck of evidence left once I press this button."  
  
Her eyes filled with tears, Elizabeth stood up from Lyle's body  
  
and said, "Well Sean, or Alex, whoever the hell you really are, what   
  
if something doesn't fit with your little plan? What if that huge   
  
monster comes and rips your goddamn head off? You ever think about   
  
that?"  
  
Sean simply laughed at Elizabeth, "Hah, I'm absolutely sure   
  
that by now, nothing can go wron-" Sean was interrupted when the   
  
Intersection door literally exploded off of its hinges. War stampeded   
  
into the room and stopped, taking in the new arrangement of prey.   
  
Sean's once confident and sly face was now a tense face of panic as he   
  
blasted away at War with his Uzi. The feeble bullets mere sank into   
  
War's muscled frame as he charged at Sean, blade extended from his arm.  
  
The blade plunged into Sean's stomach, the sudden wave of pain   
  
causing him to scream with agony. War grabbed Sean's arm and twisted   
  
it, breaking nearly every bone, causing the Uzi to fall to the ground.  
  
War let go of Sean's now limp, ruined arm and glared at him for a   
  
moment. After seemingly making up his mind, he placed his massive hand  
  
on Sean's writing head. As he squeezed his head he slowly began to   
  
raise the blade on his arm, cutting upwards into Sean's ribcage. War   
  
continued to push harder and harder until he finally ripped the blade   
  
through Sean's skull, severing everything above his waist down the   
  
middle. He then turned to the remaining prey: Elizabeth, Seth, and   
  
Em. He slowly prowled towards them as they scattered in separate   
  
directions. Elizabeth turned her attention to the now screaming Em,   
  
who she realized was screaming at Seth. Seth was quickly limping   
  
towards the Entrance, and he threw open the door and ran out. He had   
  
left Em and herself to fight War by themselves.   
  
_**"SETH YOU CAN'T LEAVE US HERE!!!!"  
**_  
A desperate plea for help, which would probably go unanswered. 


	16. All's Fair in War and Death

For the third time, Em felt the cold surface of War's hand   
  
sweep across his face, sending him off of his feet and onto the ground.  
  
Adapted to his now downed position, Em opened fire and sent the   
  
automatic rounds into War's wretched face. One of the bullets   
  
triggered a rough, muffled scream as it embedded itself into one of   
  
War's ivory eyeballs. His bloody hands grabbed at the wounded eye,   
  
fingers gracefully moving until the ruined eye dropped onto the floor.  
  
The now one-eyed War continued his approach towards Em. His rifle   
  
now uselessly empty of bullets, Em used the unloaded gun as a makeshift  
  
club, swinging it into the back of one of War's bulging kneecaps. He   
  
doubled over slightly, but just enough that Elizabeth could riddle the   
  
back of his head with bullets, courtesy of the late Sean Grey's Uzi.   
  
Once the automatic chatter ceased, she bashed the firearm against War's  
  
bleeding head.  
  
"Over here Robert!"  
  
Em, Elizabeth, and War all turned their heads towards their new  
  
guest, a young woman with blonde hair flowing down from only the left   
  
side of her head, the locks ending just below her breast. The hairless  
  
right side was dotted with tiny key-sized capsules, filled with clear   
  
and blue fluids. Her skin was a ghostly white, black veins cut across   
  
the pigment-less skin. Her arrival distracted the soldiers long enough  
  
for War to get a hold of Em's head, which he held like an aristocrat   
  
would hold a fine glass of champagne. He hoisted up the struggling Em,  
  
taking pleasure in his screaming as he turned the man towards the   
  
woman. The blade shot out of War's forearm, quickly sliding through   
  
Em's thick Kevlar jacket and making short work of his delicate innards.  
  
The crude blade broke through the front, jutting out of Em's heaving   
  
chest. His breathing continually became shallower and shallower until   
  
it subsided, his body fell limp on the beast's claw. As his free hand   
  
reached for Elizabeth, it suddenly stopped, as if one had paused him in  
  
time. She could see his muscles were tense and attempting to push the  
  
arm forwards to grab her. She turned and saw that the girl's hand was  
  
outstretched and her eyes were tightly shut. Now willing to believe   
  
nearly anything, Elizabeth could only imagine that this girl was "using  
  
her mind" to save her from this man-monster.  
  
Petrified with fear, Elizabeth nearly leapt back when War's   
  
shoulder literally exploded. War writhed back in pain, his muffled   
  
screams attempting to escape from their stitched prison, the bone blade  
  
returned into the forearm, dropping Em's body to the floor. She saw   
  
Seth standing in the doorway, armed with a grenade launcher, presumably  
  
from the helicopter. He was loading another grenade into the smoking   
  
gun as the girl began to yell.  
  
"Waste no time! Cut the stitches!" Death screamed, now   
  
obviously attempting to help the soldiers defeat War. Elizabeth   
  
quickly obeyed Death, unsheathing her combat knife and plunging it into  
  
War's chest. She dug the blade deep into his chest, cutting a V   
  
shaped arc, then ripped it downwards, turning the V into a Y, cutting   
  
open an entryway to War's internal organs. She could see the organs,   
  
but they were not functioning as the heart and lungs laid still,   
  
revealing that War was just as dead as the zombified Umbrella staff.   
  
Death concentrated, turning the now bleeding War towards the armed   
  
Seth as he limped forward, grenade launcher in hand. "Do it! Shoot   
  
him!" Death screamed, her eyes still closed as she mentally held War   
  
at bay. As he took aim, Seth glanced at his watch, the glowing numbers  
  
reading "1:24 AM, 9/25/04." He remembered the subject he discovered   
  
with Death's diary, that September 25th was the twentieth birthday of   
  
Robert Peters, a.k.a. "War." A sense of vengeful fury took over as he   
  
continued to limp towards War, drowning out the commands of Elizabeth   
  
and Death. He plunged the barrel of the grenade launcher into War's   
  
open torso.  
  
"Happy 20th Birthday, you _**FUCKER**_!!"  
  
--------------------  
  
Elizabeth awoke in pain, her foot twisted and broken at the   
  
ankle and her shoulder ached with a dull pain. Little was left of War,  
  
blood and remnants of entrails were all over the walls and floor. She  
  
could see Seth huddled in the corner closest to her, but she didn't   
  
even need to check his pulse to see that he was dead. His head was   
  
slumped over his shoulder, jagged lumps of broken bones pushing against  
  
the skin. She stripped away her now seemingly useless bulletproof   
  
vest and shredded overshirt, wrapping the shirt around her twisted   
  
foot. Upon finishing her makeshift brace, Elizabeth spotted the   
  
detonator that Sean had earlier wielded with reckless confidence.   
  
Outside of the lab, she could hear what sounded like a helicopter's   
  
landing gear skidding against the cold snow. She quickly pulled up her  
  
black tank-top and hid the detonator underneath, wondering who was   
  
coming and if Death was still here to stop them.  
  
--------------------  
  
U.B.C.S. Commander Felix Austin threw open the door to the   
  
OpRev lab with his weapon drawn. His mouth suddenly went dry once he   
  
saw the carnage that was formerly the Main Hall. Blood was abundant,   
  
covering almost everything in the Hall. Bodies were just as abundant,   
  
there was a black man, a man who had been split down the middle, an   
  
Asian woman, a headless body, what looked like the good Doctor Keyes, a  
  
man perched against a desk with a bullet in his head, and two others,   
  
a man and a woman sitting in separate corners. "Looks like the   
  
subjects got out," Felix uttered to himself.  
  
"Jaysus Croist, whot in the Hell happened 'ere?!" screamed   
  
Private Nell, his normally humorous Irish accent caused no laughter.   
  
Bates, the medic, ran over to the male body in the corner and reeled   
  
back in shock before checking his pulse, discovering the broken mess   
  
that was once his neck and vertebra.  
  
"It, uh, it looks like he got, uhm, thrown and took it to the   
  
head so his neck is, uh-"  
  
Jones, a mere grunt, interuppted the fear-stricken medic,   
  
"Snapped like a twig? Hey bossman, we got a live one!"  
  
Felix and two others dashed towards the female body in the   
  
corner, who was indeed alive and staring them in the eyes. Felix   
  
calmly and slowly prattled off questions. "Who are you, what is your   
  
name?" No response from the woman. "What is your name?" Again, only   
  
silence. Felix waved his hand across her face, but her eyes did not   
  
follow.  
  
"She could be in shock sir. She's probably pretty fucked up by  
  
whatever happe- _GAAAAAHH_!!!!" Felix turned to the screaming Jones and  
  
saw that both of his arms were horrifically bent at the elbows. His   
  
head twisted 180 degrees before he fell to the floor. Mercer, the   
  
other soldier who accompanied Felix, screamed as his fingers were bent  
  
back as his arms tore through his chest. Felix turned to see Nell   
  
and the other soldiers firing at a young, pale girl, but the bullets   
  
did nothing but stop in front of her, falling to the floor at her feet.  
  
The newer recruit, Foreman, had no time to scream as he was lifted   
  
into the air by an unseen force and thrown into the line of fire, the   
  
bullets from his fellow soldiers shredding him.   
  
"RUN YOU STUPID FUCKS GET OUT OF HERE!" Percy screamed as he   
  
turned to run, only to have his face mashed into the wall as his some   
  
cosmic force had pushed him into it. Felix turned to the woman, still   
  
sitting against the wall. She was reaching under her black tank-top   
  
and pulled out what looked like a joystick tipped with a glowing red   
  
button. As his brain processed what her intentions were, he swung his   
  
rifle towards her, but her thumb was already over the button. 


	17. Epilogue: One Little Coverup

It was Steven Berry's second week working at Umbrella, and he   
  
didn't understand what everyone had been so worried about. It was   
  
definately a good job, all the people treated him well, and he made   
  
good money, even at his currently low status. "_Hah, I knew it was all   
  
just a bunch of talk. Why in the world would a place like this nuke an  
  
entire city? I bet it was the government, they're never up to any   
  
good. I'm sure Umbrella had nothing to do with it. I mean, it's just   
  
a pharmeceutical company for God's sake_." Steven had thoughts on the   
  
same topic since he applied for the job, but after finally making it   
  
in, he had no idea why so much commotion was caused. He idly waited   
  
and thought while sipping at his cup of coffee, waiting for any phone   
  
calls he may need to transfer. _"Yep, nothing wrong at all with   
  
Umbrella."_ A man in a very fine, expensive red suit walked stiffly   
  
over to the main desk, over towards Steven. Politely, he sat up   
  
straight and greeted the gentleman. "Hello sir! Fine day isn't it?"   
  
Seemingly unaffected by Steven's optimism, Mr. Red continued on until   
  
he was behind Steven's chair. Steven rotated around in order to look   
  
the man in the eyes. "Anything I can do for you sir?"  
  
Mr. Red slicked back his already slicked back black hair and   
  
in a low, solemn voice said, "Could you please come and follow me?"  
  
Steven's mouth went dry as he quickly nodded and stood up,   
  
following the man through what seemed to be an endless eternity of   
  
hallway after hallway. They arrived at an elevator and Mr. Red's   
  
finger hit the button to the top floor. "_Oh no, what could I have done   
  
wrong, why would they want to fire me? Please no, I love this job!"_  
  
Steven arrived with Mr. Red in what appeared to be a large   
  
conference room. Organized stacks of paper sat at the grand glass   
  
table which was occupied by seven other men and women, each wearing a   
  
different colored suit. Upon their arrival, the woman in the black   
  
suit stopped talking and a man with thin-rimmed glasses and a deep   
  
emerald suit rose from his chair, holding up his hand towards the   
  
woman, "Hold that thought for a moment, would you Ms. Black?"  
  
The woman nodded as Mr. Green led Steven to another room,   
  
rather small but with a large window that had a brilliant view. In the  
  
room was a desk whose only occupant was a phone. Mr. Green offered   
  
Steven a seat, which he nervously yet graciously took.  
  
"Now I'm sure you're very curious as to why you are here."   
  
Steven nodded. "Well, one of our laboratories located on the U.S.   
  
border with Canada was destroyed. The head researcher Doctor Peter   
  
Keyes went ballistic and released his bioengineered supersoldiers,   
  
entitled the Four Horsemen, into the facility. S.T.A.R.S. was sent in,  
  
and later the U.B.C.S. We believe that Keyes's son led the S.T.A.R.S.  
  
into the facility and one of them demolished it with SEMTEX   
  
explosives." Steven's face was as pale as a sheet. "Everyone was   
  
believed to be killed. Now watch me." Mr. Green picked up the phone   
  
and removed a paper from his pocket. As his finger rested upon a   
  
number on the paper, he dialed it and put it on speaker-phone. The   
  
resident answered the phone.  
  
"Hello, Montgomery residence. This is Pauline speaking."  
  
"Greetings Mrs. Montgomery. We have discovered that your   
  
husband, Richard, was found at a laboratory on the U.S./Canada border.  
  
He had led his military team, the S.T.A.R.S. Beta team, into the   
  
facility with the intention of destroying the work of the scientists   
  
there. The facility's attack team was forced to retaliate and your   
  
husband was killed." Mr. Green then hung up the phone without another  
  
word, neither consolation or apology. Steven was astounded at Green's  
  
heartlessness, showing no sympathy, telling the woman that her   
  
husband died as if it were a fact, being totally emotionless. Before   
  
he could speak, Mr. Green started, "Now, I need you to do the same   
  
thing for the remaining ten families of the deceased S.T.A.R.S.   
  
members." Mr. Green slid the list down the table to Steven.  
  
"But, that's not really what happened, sir!"  
  
Mr. Green simply smiled, his eyes hidden behind the glare of   
  
his spectacles. "A little coverup never hurt anyone did it?"  
  
With that, Green exited the room, leaving Steven with the   
  
phone and the list. Steven found himself drastically trapped, either   
  
he lied to these poor people, or left this well-paying job. He stood   
  
up from the chair, determined not to stood so low. However, Mr.   
  
Green's cool, collect voice chimed in on an overhead speaker in the   
  
room.  
  
_"You're risking a lot by leaving that desk my friend. My   
  
personal recommendation is that you call those people and tell them.   
  
Keep in mind that we can hear everything that you're saying. Please   
  
don't make this difficult."_  
  
The announcement ended and Steven could hear the door, his   
  
only exit aside from the window, lock. He was now officially stuck.   
  
Steven sulkily shuffled back over to the desk and picked up the phone.  
  
The next name on the list was a man named Lyle Morris. Steven   
  
regretfully dialed the number and waited for an answer. The answer   
  
came in the form of an eight year old boy.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Uh...hi..is this where Lyle Morris lives?" A heavy lump was   
  
sitting in Steven's throat as he prayed he had dialed the wrong   
  
number.  
  
"Yeah, he's my daddie!"  
  
Steven cringed and bit at his lip, his voice now heavy with   
  
sorrow. "C-could you please get your mom?" The little boy responded   
  
with a small okay before he could hear tiny footsteps over the phone.  
  
He could hear the phone being handled until a female voice cut in.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Um..yes..Mrs. Morris. I hate to report that," Steven paused,   
  
his heart heavy, on the brink of sobbing, "I hate to report that your   
  
husband, he, well he attacked a laboratory with his S.T.A.R.S. team and  
  
their attack force had to kill him." Steven slammed down the phone   
  
before he could hear any reaction from the woman. He sobbed with his   
  
face buried in his arms as Mr. Green once again began to speak via   
  
intercom.  
  
_ "You see Steven, that wasn't so hard now was it? Only nine _

_families left."_

What used to be love for his newfound job had quickly U-turned

into pure, untapped hatred.  
  
--------------------  
  
_"I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider   
  
held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror   
  
bent on conquest.  
  
...Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. its rider was   
  
given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each   
  
other. To him was given a large sword.  
  
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living   
  
creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was a black horse!   
  
Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what   
  
sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, 'A quart   
  
of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's   
  
wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!'  
  
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the   
  
fourth living creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was   
  
a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close   
  
behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill   
  
by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."  
  
**-Revelation 6: 2-8** _


End file.
